I Was Just Thinking About – BEING BEFUDDLED.
There are times when one’s life can become overwhelmed by personal responsibilities, general concerns, or unexpected news or contacts. At such a moment, it can leave one without a clear sense of what choice to make in terms of prioritizing. My use of the word “befuddle” isolates one of the possible definitions, “to confuse or perplex.” Some of the synonyms clarify the meaning: “perplex, bewilder, baffle, daze.”
A person may become befuddled by a lack of discipline in terms of (a) personal ability, (b) personal responsibility, and (c) a personal view of one’s being indispensable. In terms of Church ministry, one must measure choices in terms of calling, giftedness, skill sets, and humility. Ah, you may think – why is humility mentioned? The answer is due to one’s personal ambition and drive for recognition.
The general guideline for calling is given in Ephesians 4:7-13, “Now to each one of us grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. This is why it says…(He)gave gifts to men…it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for works of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ.”
That which is often blurred or missed completely is that we are to be co-laborers in the cause of Christ. Ideally, the “pecking order” in ministry should not be desired or clung to tenaciously. Pecking Order is more of a term pertaining to Poultry: “a dominance hierarchy, seen especially in domestic poultry, that is maintained by one bird pecking another of lower status: a sequence or hierarchy of authority in an organization or social group." Does this occur within religious groups? Sadly, the answer is: Yes! Hackneyed ideas and expressions, such as: “cream always rises to the top” should be seen for what they are, excuses for maintenance of a religious pecking order. I wonder if this is a reason why people withdraw from churches, such as the “Nones” and “Dones” of twenty-first century Christianity. I wonder if this is a reason why some individuals isolate themselves away from the “hypocrites” as they see them within church memberships. There’s plenty of denial that goes on as effort is made to gloss over the mechanics of church and religious-oriented organizations.
Jesus prays in this regard, John 17:11, “Holy Father, protect them by Your name, the name You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one.” Paul expressed in Ephesians 4:1-3, “I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received: with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Is this our commitment to fellow-believers today?
Prayerfully – consider these things with me.
There are times when one’s life can become overwhelmed by personal responsibilities, general concerns, or unexpected news or contacts. At such a moment, it can leave one without a clear sense of what choice to make in terms of prioritizing. My use of the word “befuddle” isolates one of the possible definitions, “to confuse or perplex.” Some of the synonyms clarify the meaning: “perplex, bewilder, baffle, daze.”
A person may become befuddled by a lack of discipline in terms of (a) personal ability, (b) personal responsibility, and (c) a personal view of one’s being indispensable. In terms of Church ministry, one must measure choices in terms of calling, giftedness, skill sets, and humility. Ah, you may think – why is humility mentioned? The answer is due to one’s personal ambition and drive for recognition.
The general guideline for calling is given in Ephesians 4:7-13, “Now to each one of us grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. This is why it says…(He)gave gifts to men…it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for works of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ.”
That which is often blurred or missed completely is that we are to be co-laborers in the cause of Christ. Ideally, the “pecking order” in ministry should not be desired or clung to tenaciously. Pecking Order is more of a term pertaining to Poultry: “a dominance hierarchy, seen especially in domestic poultry, that is maintained by one bird pecking another of lower status: a sequence or hierarchy of authority in an organization or social group." Does this occur within religious groups? Sadly, the answer is: Yes! Hackneyed ideas and expressions, such as: “cream always rises to the top” should be seen for what they are, excuses for maintenance of a religious pecking order. I wonder if this is a reason why people withdraw from churches, such as the “Nones” and “Dones” of twenty-first century Christianity. I wonder if this is a reason why some individuals isolate themselves away from the “hypocrites” as they see them within church memberships. There’s plenty of denial that goes on as effort is made to gloss over the mechanics of church and religious-oriented organizations.
Jesus prays in this regard, John 17:11, “Holy Father, protect them by Your name, the name You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one.” Paul expressed in Ephesians 4:1-3, “I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received: with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Is this our commitment to fellow-believers today?
Prayerfully – consider these things with me.
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