Frustration….

I hate it when believers are passive aggressive….I mean I’m not crazy with the controlling aggressive types either.  But believers who portray themselves as righteous, caring, compassionate godly types, yet share circumstances that make them appear to have been wronged or mistreated in order to enlarge their circle drives me crazy.  I don’t get why we congregate ourselves together in the name of Jesus, create community, then set about dividing the community into groups that intentionally overlook, leave out or disregard others, and then make sure it is known that camaraderie has occurred, thus confirming to the outcasts that they have been ignored and left out!  Then we are surprised when fellow believers disappear.  But not for long, for we easily forget their names and faces.  I do not think this is how God wanted us to play together!  At the head of these clusters of alliances are, without fail, a passive aggressive type who, at first glance, seems to be a sincere person, but in truth, they are a manipulating, smoke screen covered, smiling, stab you in the back kind of person.  It is beyond me how you can watch all of this play out from afar and scratch your head, perplexed by the fact that no one sees what you see, and then continue to want to be a part of the church at all!  I have determined this one thing, after years of watching, and sometimes even being sucked in or cast out.  It is best to stay neutral, not engage too deeply in relationships, put on blinders and try to stay focused on hearing and sharing God’s truth, and the latest lesson I am learning is to remain silent.  For if you dare say a word about or against, it means death to your social existence within the confines of this community!

Let’s be clear, I love God’s people, because all God’s people are not like what I have just described.  There are those individuals, who are sincere and who are not self-elevating.  They truly do love unconditionally.  They are not judgemental.  They want to serve.  These people, these precious saints, are the ones who cause you to want to congregate.  They are those sisters and brothers in Christ who will pray with you, even when they don’t know exactly what to pray about.  They do not judge you.  They love you.  They include you.  They exclude no one.  They are quiet.  They know the other cliques are floating around inside the same walls of the church, but they are unmoved and unaffected by the high school antics.  They are there because they love Jesus.  They are there because they want to hear the Word of God shared by a godly man who loves Jesus with all his heart.  They are there because they want to serve.  They are there because they want to worship. They are there because they want to make a difference.  They are genuine.  These are the people I want to gravitate toward.  These are the people I want to be like.