Maya Angelou provides the world with one of my favorite quotes. Ms. Angelou said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” I have often applied this idea in coaching and in ministry. When a player or a church member shows you who they are, believe them. That is not to say that people do not change. Pastor Rick Warren loves to say, “Growing people change.” Most people will tell you very early in your interaction precisely who they are. People are people believe it or not.
The American People Are Telling Us Who They Are
People rarely surprise me. In my 60th year of walking on this dirt I have seen a thing or two. Conversely, I believe that many of us who serve and lead in churches refuse to believe what we see. A recent Wall Street Journal poll will literally smack us into reality. The poll shows us that, in America, money is now more important to us than religion, patriotism, community involvement. and having children. I remember a day when community involvement was our religion. This is particularly hard for Boomers to swallow, however when people tells us who they are we must believe them. The poll shows that 38% of Americans value patriotism, 39% value religion, 30% value having children, and 27% value community involvement. On the other hand, 43% of Americans value money. Our value of money surprises no on. The only surprise is that number is not higher.
Flipping the Script
The results of this poll presents a huge problem to the church in America. In essence, it is not a people problem. People have always loved money. Church attendance has been declining for at least 30 years. I fear that the problem with the church is that we will spend our time and energy complaining about people’s disdain for religion and patriotism. We will spend our resources attempting to coerce people to change their views on religion and patriotism. It sounds overly simplistic, however the only thing that will change Americans is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul so eloquently wrote, “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.” When people tell you who they are believe them. When Paul says that the gospel is the answer believe him.
This is the right blog for everyone who wants to find out about this topic. You understand so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I personally would want toÖHaHa). You certainly put a new spin on a topic thats been written about for decades. Wonderful stuff, just great!
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