Articles
The Reputation of God's People
One of the greatest, if not THE greatest, college basketball coaches to have ever stood on the edge of the court — John Wooden — once said, "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation; your reputation is what other people think about you, while your character is who you really are." Coach Wooden was absolutely right!
Even God's people can get confused by this, and end up focusing on the wrong things because they are concerned about reputation, rather than character. How so?
First, it used to be well-known that individuals who were members of churches of Christ knew the Bible, and knew it well. I know this because it was told to me by many of my older brethren when I was growing up, and I even heard it from some of my denominational friends. It used to be that individuals who comprised many congregations took their Bible study seriously, and cared a great deal about whether or not they knew the truth on any particular subject matter because, as we were reminded, we need to teach our friends and neighbors the truth, and who is going to do that if we do not?
To be honest, I haven't heard that from very many people lately. Scratch that; I haven't heard it at all lately. But that is due to a couple of factors: (1) people, generally speaking, do not care as much about what the Bible says as was the case 50-60 years ago, and (2) we aren't nearly as dedicated to Bible study and gaining actual usable knowledge and wisdom for the purpose of teaching others as was the case 50-60 years ago. Add to this some changing perceptions about the 'church of Christ' as it is commonly perceived [compared to the perception of 50-60 years ago], along with the general disinterest in spiritual matters in today's society, and our reputation is not what it used to be.
More important than our reputation, though, is our character; that is, it matters more that we are the kind of people God wants us to be than what people think about us. The thing is, it seems to me that we have been more concerned with out reputation [what man thinks about us] than our character [who we really are — how God sees us], and it, consequently, has affected our reputation.
Part of this, I believe, came about because of the errors that arose among congregations in the 1930s and 1940s, and which continued into the 1960s and ended up permanently dividing many congregations and outright destroying many others. During those decades of debate and confrontation, many churches had to take the time to address these errors — both in teaching their members the truth on certain issues, and exposing the errors — and, as a result, taking a stand for truth became the main identity of church of Christ. In a world filled with error, there is nothing wrong with being known for preaching and teaching truth, and certainly nothing wrong with being known for exposing error, but that became our identity, and that is where we have gone wrong.
Please stop and consider the words of Jesus: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34, 35). Let us first acknowledge the new standard of love Jesus established: loving one another as He loved us. But the next thing we must note is that He then declared that our love for one another — this love that follows the pattern of His love for us — is how “all will know that you are My disciples”— not our firm stand for the truth and not for our refusal to tolerate error, but by our love for one another!
Now, before you think I've gone off the deep end, please don't interpret this to mean I am saying standing for the truth or exposing error is unimportant; that is absolutely not the case. What I am saying, though, is that we have come to focus on these things to the neglect of a 'weightier matter' of loving one another as Christ loved us. Just as the habit of the scribes and Pharisees of tithing herbs was necessary, so is standing for truth and exposing error — but not to the neglect of the 'weightier matter' of loving one another as Christ loved us.
Now, of course, this is not applicable to each and every local congregation, and not every individual disciple, because there are many congregations and many individuals known for their love of one another. But, as a whole, I think we would all have to admit our reputation is not what it should be. If you doubt this, ask some of your denominational friends what their perception of 'churches of Christ' is. Ask some of your unbelieving friends, too.
So, what does it mean to love one another as Jesus loved us? How will this love be manifested, and what is required of us to not just love one another in this way, but to do so in such a way as the world will clearly see it, and know we are His disciples?
It Is A Love Preceded By Humility. Before Jesus could prove His love for us by His death, He had to first leave heaven, And not only did He leave heaven, He also left behind all the glory of being Deity (Phil. 2:5-8). The love we must have for one another must be preceded by a willingness to humble ourselves as low as we need to for us to prove our love for one another. We must first elevate Christ to the highest position, and then our brethren over self. Until we do that, we are not loving one another as Jesus loved us.
It Is A Love of Action. Jesus didn't just sit up in heaven talking to the Father about how much He loved us, but acted on his love and came to earth and died for us (Eph. 5:2). Disciples today cannot just love “in word or in tongue, but” must do so “in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18). Until we act, it's not the right kind of love.
It Is A Love of Sacrifice. Of course, the most obvious pattern Jesus set for us regarding our love is that of sacrifice, for He willingly made the greatest sacrifice that could be made: Himself. God doesn't necessarily ask us to die for one another, but we must certainly be willing (cf. 1 John 3:16). What He really wants is for us to be willing to sacrifice our time, energy, and maybe even material goods for a brother when he is in need (1 John 3:17). It pleases Him to see that we are willing to share with what we have (Heb. 13:16).
Let us have this love, brethren. Let us prove ourselves true disciples. — Steven Harper
