Who should we be trying to please?
The Bird Killed by Kindness
A seagull alighted in a suburb of the capital of Lu. The Marquis of Lu welcomed it and feasted it in the temple hall, ordering the best music and grandest sacrifices for it. But the bird remained in a daze, looking quite wretched, not daring to swallow a morsel of meat or a single cup of wine. And after three days it died.
This was entertaining the seagull as the Marquis of Lu liked to be entertained, not as a seagull likes to be entertained.
Zhuang Zi
This made me reflect on the many activities the church organises as part of its outreach and mission programme and also how we try to engage the "unchurched" (rather an ugly phrase I feel) in the kingdom of God through our worship services.
It is a reminder that we should be looking at things from the perspective of those we would like to help and reach rather than from the perspective of what we would like to do for them. We have to look beyond our own cultural and class expectations and be truly inclusive. This is sometimes harder than we think because we don't always consult our "service users".
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 1:27 [NIV]
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8 [NIV]
Ask God to show you if something you are doing in his name is missing the mark, and what you can do about it.
Mairi Mowbray | |
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