Disruption in Community
James 4:1 - “Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you?” (NRSV)
“Self-centered love loves the other for the sake of itself; spiritual love loves the other for the sake of Christ.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
What causes a community of otherwise loving and caring people to break apart? Many of us have seen it either first hand, or vicariously through friends. The church at large now consists of several thousand different denominations and sects because at some point or another people just disagreed and decided it was easier to separate than work through the conflicts that arose. It’s an astounding number considering for the first 1000 years of church history there was essentially just “1” church (not counting the break-away groups that were considered heretical). The next 500 years after that saw some diversification (particularly between East and West), but the proliferation of denominations really took off after the Reformation.
My point is not to have a history lesson, as interesting as it is. My point is that Christian communities have been dividing for a very long time. It is hard work to maintain community and especially hard work when that community is rooted in a commitment to diversity. Of course, this defines what we are committed to at New Hope. Which brings us back to the first question: Why do communities break apart? And the follow-up question, are we vulnerable?
The bondservant of Christ, James (probably a half-brother of Christ himself), tells us that community strife is most often rooted in individual internal conflict. When our own desires are not being met, and we position our own needs above the needs of the community, we find ourselves at odds with others in our community. The word translated above as “cravings” is translated elsewhere as passions or desires, but the word itself actually means “pleasure.” The same word is found in verse 3 if you read on in your bible (James 4:1-3). The root of the word is related to “hedonism,” or the concept that pleasure is my goal and nothing stands above it. In other words, the world exists to make me happy, so anything that stands opposed to my happiness (or simply doesn’t help me achieve my goal) becomes something I am willing to go to war with (sometimes even unconsciously).
There are all kinds of ways disruption in community manifests itself. Many of them are negative types of behaviors. We can think of jealousy, anger, being harsh toward others, favoritism, and insincerity to name a few. But, some of them are also cloaked in positive concepts. Dietrich Bonhoeffer describes these as “wishful images” for the community. They are not inherently bad as concepts, but they remain rooted with a focus on self and meeting our own needs or fulfilling our desires. They become fanciful notions of what we want the community to be, rather than what it actually should be. Rather than the focus being on Jesus Christ, it breaks down into an idea that is rooted in something that satisfies my cravings for what I want in a community. As the quote above points out, it is a love of others for the sake of self rather than loving others for the sake of Christ.
The bottom line is that when we don’t love others the way we have been loved, the community is not only disrupted, it actually can break apart. How have we been loved? Sacrificially and with eternity in full focus. We were loved despite our inability at the time to love in return. That means love extends to the unlovable. That means that love embraces with grace those that sometimes (often-times) reject it. That means that love welcomes the stranger, and extends mercy, and meets needs even when it would appear to be useless or poured out on someone who can’t comprehend it. Love is extravagant. Love is long-suffering. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud, rude or self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. It rejoices in the truth. (See 1 Cor. 13).
Are we loving others the way Christ extended love to us? Are we laying down our own desires and pressing into Christ? The antidote to disruption in the community can be found in James 4:7-10. I encourage you to spend some time reflecting and praying through that passage for the rest of this week. As you read, notice what stands out to you? What seems difficult about that passage? What don’t you understand? As you pray through it, go back and read all of chapter 3, and finish chapter 4. Read right through chapter 5 and then come back to those verses. Ask the Lord to impress upon your heart a deep and heartfelt humility and recognition of sinful patterns, habits, and thoughts. As you work through them, trust God to draw you closer and lift you up.
Every community is vulnerable. Ours is not immune to disruption. We can be wary and on the lookout for the cunning and evil ways of the enemy. It starts with learning what’s at the root of disruption, which means getting real about what’s inside of each of us. When we take the focus off of Christ and put it on ourselves or on others in our community, we could experience disruption. For those of us who are aware, it becomes imperative that we prayerfully work toward reconciliation and collectively commit to extending grace and mercy to those that might not be able to see what’s at work inside themselves. With love, grace, and mercy, we can minimize disruption and remain focused on Jesus Christ and His ways, goals, and purposes for our community.
I pray the blessing of God’s presence and the empowering work of His spirit to quicken all of us to a place of commitment and deepening relationship with the one who made us. Have a blessed end of your week!
Pastor Scott