Yes, I am a terrible person. I dislike exhortations to love others more. I am even annoyed when people pray for God to make us more loving. I have heard this prayer for years. It tries my patience. But it gets worse, I dislike most prophetic exhortations to follow God more passionately, share our faith more fervently, and walk with Christ in greater intimacy.
I dislike such exhortations for three reasons. First, it seems that we all agree with them. We all shout “Amen!” loud and long, but little changes. It’s like saying, “We should all be healthy.” No one disagrees as they waddle to the church potluck. So often we all say the right thing, but nothing changes. Talk is cheap.
Second, such exhortations seem like a book’s title. People read the title, close the book, and shout “Amen!” Exhortations about where we need to be spiritually miss 90% of the message. Imagine someone says, “We all need to go to Washtucna!” The Spirit moves and everyone exclaims, “Amen! Let’s go to Washtucna!” The prophets and elders confirm it: we need to go to Washtucna.
But in a corner sits the teacher who sneaks up his hand and asks, “Where is Washtucna? How do we get there? Do we go east or west? How long is the trip? How much will it cost? How long are we staying? By what criteria will we decide when we are done in Washtucna? With disdain people glare at the teacher and shout more loudly, “Hallelujah, we are going to Washtucna!”
This leads to my real reason for disliking vague exhortations—I am a teacher. And even worse, I am an English teacher. So when someone says we should be more loving, I want to know what we mean by “loving.” Does these mean acting friendlier? More big smiles, back-pats, shoulder-hugs before and after church services? When someone says, “We need to trust God more,” I ask trust God for what? (I often get a blank look.) Can I trust God that all my children will be saved? Well, no. Can I trust God that my heart won’t be broken by the untimely death of those I love. No. Can I trust in the goodness of God and His perfect love for me? Yes and amen!
Definitions are important to teachers, but we also want to know how to get from point A to point B. If we aren’t as loving as we need to be, how do we become more loving? What does love do? What steps do we take to become more intimate with Jesus? People like the vague exhortations because they require nothing. But they also take us nowhere. Prophetic, teaching, and pastoral ministries need to work together so that a congregation can move in the direction God is leading. Otherwise, we never get to Washtucna—or the full stature of Christ.
So really I don’t mind the exhortations if we just treat them like the book’s title or table of contents. But I am an English teacher; I want us to read the whole book.
