Thoughts brought about by ... the Ted Haggard situation
Just a thought about the whole Ted Haggard thing…I don’t know if he did everything he was accused of or not…but I think it brings up an interesting thought. In America you can grow up to be anyone and do anything, there are no limits to what you can do it you commit yourself. I think sometimes as Christian’s in America we are the same way, we are able to pastor mega-churches, etc. if we set our mind to it.
Now the problems arise when we move to quickly, questions such as is it God’s will get pushed to the backburner, if we are successful it must be God’s will. This is not to say that Ted Haggard’s church is only successful because of Ted Haggard and not God, but it makes you think.
In America I don’t believe we are forced to sacrifice, to be purified by the fire in order to achieve success or even greatness. In America I believe what we see is that people who aren’t ready, who take shortcuts, end up with things catching up with them. Now please don’t think for one minute that I think Ted Haggard is guilty, a great thing about America is that we are innocent until proven guilty (at least by trial, if not by the media).
If we want to live Holy lives devoted only to God, I believe that not only does God have to purify us (and who knows He may chose to purify us through bringing sin to light as in Ted Haggard’s situation), but we will be called to sacrifice and especially be patient. It’s easy to want the instant gratification, but slow and steady seems to be the course God uses most frequently. This is played out in Paul’s life as well as Jesus’ life. Both incredible men (one incredible Savior) and both spent much time in solitude and training before they were released to ministry.
If anyone gleams anything from these idea’s let it be this…Allow the Lords timing to guide you in your life and don’t rush things…This whole situation, and blog may just be the message God is trying to teach me. So off I go to dream about it, Good Night.
Now the problems arise when we move to quickly, questions such as is it God’s will get pushed to the backburner, if we are successful it must be God’s will. This is not to say that Ted Haggard’s church is only successful because of Ted Haggard and not God, but it makes you think.
In America I don’t believe we are forced to sacrifice, to be purified by the fire in order to achieve success or even greatness. In America I believe what we see is that people who aren’t ready, who take shortcuts, end up with things catching up with them. Now please don’t think for one minute that I think Ted Haggard is guilty, a great thing about America is that we are innocent until proven guilty (at least by trial, if not by the media).
If we want to live Holy lives devoted only to God, I believe that not only does God have to purify us (and who knows He may chose to purify us through bringing sin to light as in Ted Haggard’s situation), but we will be called to sacrifice and especially be patient. It’s easy to want the instant gratification, but slow and steady seems to be the course God uses most frequently. This is played out in Paul’s life as well as Jesus’ life. Both incredible men (one incredible Savior) and both spent much time in solitude and training before they were released to ministry.
If anyone gleams anything from these idea’s let it be this…Allow the Lords timing to guide you in your life and don’t rush things…This whole situation, and blog may just be the message God is trying to teach me. So off I go to dream about it, Good Night.
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