How to Spot a Fanatic

There is something in human nature that will take a truth to its logical limits and try to set it in cement. Naturally we want everyone else to live it to the letter, (just as long as it isn’t us!) Thankfully, many of us have learned by observation that those who preach an absolute

‘i’ shop, therefore ‘i’ am

Like me you will have noted the current obsession with the ‘i’ phone, ‘i’ pad etc. That people who only a short time ago lined up throughout even cold nights to buy the iPhone 4 are now panting in anticipation of the iPhone 5, is a sad commentary on our times.

Don't Advertise Your Fears

We do have a lot of funny wee traditions as Christians. Most of them have to do with small fears and the stress of everyday living. Real maturity becomes evident when we don’t feel the need to speak out our fears in the guise of prayers.

Paul informs the superstitious Greeks that God is not far from us. “In Him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:26-28. That being so, if we have a relationship with Him, nothing should surprise us; our days should be filled with small miracles as promised in Romans 8:28 “all things work together for good.”

The walk of faith is a daily adventure and our expectations should not be limited by fear or anxiety for the outcome of things. We declare our intentions to walk close to Him every morning when we commit our day to Him. Praying and feeding in the Word can become as natural as our breakfast cereal when we expect God’s best.

I remember a youth excursion once when a person stopped us all from jumping in our cars to drive to a country location: “Let’s all pray for travelling Mercies” they said and then prayed out from their fear of accidents. That same person actually had an accident on the way and ended up in hospital. When we speak out our fears we make room for the enemy. “Don’t tell the Devil your level!” Speak out your expectation of good for the day and rest in the results.

Being the Outside Expert

Sometimes, I’ve been invited to speak in other churches. They seem to respect my advice on matters in a way that can even seem embarrassing. Afterwards, a frustrated leader or Pastor tells me they had been saying something similar for a long time, but the congregation and leadership seemed reluctant to listen. But now that they invite me to share my views, suddenly they’re interested. Most managers or leaders have experienced this from both sides and understand the frustration. Often, it really does seem that an outside expert has great persuasive powers.

But the concept is explained in the Bible. In discussing how we as Christians are to relate to others, Jesus used the illustration of salt in Matthew 5:13: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”

Salt has the ability to ‘season’ things. In ancient days, salt was the best preservative available, and to keep meat from rotting, salt had to be rubbed in.  But one important element of salt is how different it is from the meat. To change something, you have to be different from what you’re trying to change.

After a long time within any organization, most people seem to lose their saltiness; their unique or impartial perspective and authority. Human nature being what it is, others don’t take advice as often from inside people because they seem to be like part of the problem they are trying to solve.  That’s why we are open to outside advice; it does bring a fresh perspective.

Salt changes things because it’s not like what it’s trying to change. Certainly being different in your views, will not always be appreciated, but it does mean you offer different ideas. To become ‘salty’ again we need to step outside of things and become renewed in our thinking. Holding the same old views means we have little to no impact on the way things are.