A CLEAN STABLE

 Originally written in 2015

I was reading in Proverbs this morning when I  came across 14:4- Without oxen a stable stays clean,  but you need a strong oxen for a large harvest.

I LOVE Proverbs!   I find it humorous, and it cuts to the chase.  I love things that are straight forward,  but this morning I saw this verse as an analogy for the church.   The stable being (the church and leaders) and the oxen (lay people).

A lot of times I have seen leaders lose focus and make an idol out of their church, the church members can as well.  I have done it myself.  We slowly begin to believe that God resides inside the four walls of our building and begin to turn our focus inward.  Looking at each other, instead of looking at Jesus. We become proud and develop a sense of dominion, which makes us territorial.

 Then, self righteousness reigns.  We focus on those around us who we have decided aren’t measuring up to God’s image and are “messing up” our church- Those who “don’t belong”.  We become hard and unmerciful,  and begin to believe our church would be better without the “fake” Christians.  Our desire becomes exposing their hypocrisy.  We decide not to trust that God is in control and will deal with every heart, and that we are commanded to love, not judge.  We think it is our job to defend His church.   But we do judge their situations and are unsympathetic to their pain,  they “deserve” it after all.   We wish they would keep their “crap” at home until they become “serious” about God.

Eventually we hurt those we have focused on but tell ourselves it is okay,  we were just being honest.  Bold.  If “so and so” can’t handle “the truth” it is their own fault!  God will deal with them! They are just following the devil and they will “get what’s coming to then”!  Some will even call on karma….

There is no grace in our spotless churches.  No wisdom, no faith, no joy, no love, no spirit.  Our stables are clean when we run all the oxen and sheep off.  Unfortunately,  when our focus gets skewed,  we forget we are oxen too.  Leadership is hard.   Frankly, you deal with a lot of crap.   When you get tired,  you wish there was less to shovel. You can’t seem to see beyond the mounds at times!   In those times, the servants forget that the harvest is great,  we know the workers are few (Matt. -9:37)  Burn out happens, especially when we take on tasks we were never meant to do.  The ability to nurture the oxen and sheep is lost, because we are too tired from playing God.  When we keep focus and remember who is in control that helps us continue to strive to be like Jesus.  To have compassion for the confused, helpless sheep wondering around lost (Matt-9:36).  To raise up strong oxen for the work ahead, and guide the sheep entrusted to us by God.  If we can’t do that, we need to spend some time out to pasture.  I would rather be a stinky old stable preparing for the harvest than a pristine, white washed tomb any day!   (Matt-23:27)