From the Pastor - August 2008


"“For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.”".
    Romans 7:19

In the seventh chapter of his letter to the Romans, Saint Paul laments that, although he truly wants to be obedient to God's will, he finds that he is constantly frustrated by his own human desires and sinfulness.

Why is that?
Why is it that we so often have good motives, but end up making poor choices? Haven't we all made New Year's resolutions, swearing to God and to ourselves that we will become better people-the people we truly want to be-only to find that there is another desire at war within us, fighting our good intentions? This is the curse of being human, but I also think it has a lot to do with fear.

Several months ago I attended a continuing education event for pastors of transitioning churches. The teacher used this great little story to illustrate the idea of our competing values: Jane was a long-time member of her Lutheran church. She was frustrated, however, that the new pastor didn't seem to visit some of the sick and shut-in members of the congregation as often as had the former-and much-loved-pastor. Jane was asked why this was a problem for her, since she was perfectly able-bodied and could attend worship, Bible study, and her women's group without difficulty. When she thought about it, Jane concluded that pastoral care for the sick and aged was a very important value to her, and that she really felt strongly about being a member of a congregation that tenderly and regularly cared for all of its homebound members.

She was then asked two very important questions. First, in what way was she personally responsible for seeing that this important aspect of ministry was being carried out in her church? After an embarrassed pause, Jane admitted that, since she probably knew the homebound members better than her new pastor did, it was her responsibility to tell the pastor which members might be in need of more care. Then, Jane was asked to explain why she had not taken this initiative. Reluctantly, Jane confessed that she was afraid that the new pastor might think she was being too pushy and would resent her interference.

Besides valuing a caring church community, what else did Jane value? Her answer indicated that she valued being liked and having peaceful, non-confrontational relationships more than she valued care for the homebound. What was Jane's biggest fear? She feared that she would alienate her pastor and be excluded and alone. Rather than risk this, she chose to have an ultimately disappointing relation-ship.

Do you see how our sinful nature operates? When we chose the fear over the desire, we invariably get less than what God intends for us. Discipleship requires a certain amount of moral courage and honest reflection. As members of Faith Lutheran Church we may want to ask ourselves if we fear embarrassment more than we desire fellowship. Do we fear poverty more than we trust in God's providence? Do we fear inconvenience more than we yearn for purposeful service? Do we fear failure more than we aim for success? Do we fear confrontation more than we feel called to witness to the gospel?

When fear wins, sin (or, as Luther would say, the devil) often wins too. When we as a church give in to our insecurities, we lose our sense of mission. When we as people chose a competing value rather than our desire to do God's will, we lose ourselves.

Love in Christ,
Pastor Owen