YOU, ME, AND THE TROUBLE WITH “US”
It has been estimated that North Americans are bombarded by 1700 advertisements a day via various forms of the media (TV, radio, billboards, internet, magazines, etc.). While there is no danger of our purchasing all 1700 items, there is certainly potential of us accepting the philosophical influence behind these advertisements – that we will have complete, fulfilled, satisfied lives if only we drive this car, use this hairspray, or drink that beverage.
Consider this one out of 1700: Crest Whitestrips – they’re supposed to make your teeth whiter. The slogan is this: “Life opens up when you do.” What does that even mean? Your success, your happiness, your future all depend on you and you alone. That is the kind of philosophy that leads to defeat and a dismal view of life when you fail to “open up.”
This philosophy of individualism has infected all of society. It is the backbone of our culture, but there is a gnawing sense that it doesn’t work. The individual has been freed in recent decades to go his or her own way, to choose, to decide, and to do what’s right for “me.” Yet there is a yearning to be part of something bigger, like a community.
People come to church to find community. Many leave disillusioned because the church does not provide that perfect image of what community is supposed to be. What many inside and outside the church fail to realize is that individuality has seeped into the church and is the cause of our disillusionment.
As Canada struggles to find a national identity it keeps running into the wall of individualism. So goes the church: the greatest threat to the church as a community of faith is individualism.
Using Joshua 7 as a backdrop and the sin of Achan as representative of our present trouble, we are going to explore individualism and its effects, and what we can do about it.
1. Individualism: Raising up the One over the Many
What is individualism? Individualism is the process of prizing the individual over the group. What matters to me is more important than what happens to us. My self-concern has higher value than our common benefit. This is the dominant philosophy of our age. We have promoted the idea of self-reliance and independence so much that we have developed into a people who seek our own good before that of another.[i]
The story of Achan in Joshua 7 illustrates the negative consequences of individualism acted out within community.
a) Owning what belongs to God – The battle for Jericho, if it can be called that, was a tremendous victory for Israel. In truth God had performed a miracle in front of their eyes. They walked around the walls for seven days and God brought down the fortress.
The one stipulation was that the Israelites take none of the plunder for themselves but dedicate all of it to God. Then we read, “But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things…” (Jos 7:1). Devoted things were things or persons given irrevocably to the Lord, often by destroying them. Achan discovered some nice things and thought it a shame to destroy them despite what had been commanded.
The first stumbling block of individualism is that of possession. We like to own what does not belong to us. We are addicted to putting “my” or “mine” in front of things that belong specifically to God.
I realized this recently when I discovered that I presumed to own this pulpit. I didn’t say out loud “this is my pulpit,” but I acted in such a way that it was. It came out more when I thought of “my sermons” and “my way of preaching” and found that I was unbending in how I preached.
Pete shared with me that he felt this way about Bible Studies and the youth programs. It was a temptation for him as well to “own” those programs with a jealous and defensive spirit.
All of us are guilty of owning what belongs to God. We easily say “my committee,” “my program,” “my class,” and even “my church.” When we take ownership of such things we are inclined to resist change or correction. How about “my family”? What do we own illegally?
b) When one sins, all feel it – Achan believed the lie that his indiscretion in taking a bit of plunder affected only one person, himself.
The second stumbling block of individualism is the blindness we have about sin. Contrary to our very common understanding, your sin affects us all. Sin touches the whole community. Consider what great ministries have fallen because a preacher had an affair. Yes, that’s the extreme. Quietly, insidiously, private sin eats away at the church as well.
Joshua confronted Achan and when a confession was brought out, he said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us?” (7:25). There is a very strong sense in this chapter that our private sins are not so private; they have an effect on the community that goes beyond our immediate perceptions.
c) My sin, my business – Unfortunately, the third stumbling block of individualism is that like “my” and “mine” we like to own our sin. It’s my personal business what I struggle with. Even when we seek counseling for our addictions and troubles we go one-on-one with a therapist. Heaven forbid we would tell the community what we struggle with in private.
Like Achan we bury our sin. Achan’s guilty pleasure was a bit of silver, a bar of gold and a beautiful robe – but he had to hide these treasures in a hole in the middle of his tent. He could not even flaunt these items for fear of being found out (7:20-21). Confessing our sins to the community of faith is frightening, so instead we hide our sins under the guise of perfection. No wonder people feel they have to present a perfect image in church.
My sin affects all of us; therefore it is not my sin alone. Community shares the burden of unconfessed sin.
2. Pluralism: Tolerating our differences till we don’t agree on anything
Individualism leads to pluralism. Think of a context where there are many people of diverse backgrounds and persuasions. Now think of the church. We are not at all the same. We grew up in different families with different ways of doing things; some grew up on farms while others in urban settings; some had strict parents, some not so much; some grew up Mennonite, others not so much.
In order to exist together in this framework, tolerance and respect become central. Pluralism is a way of acknowledging diversity; it protects individualism. I let you do your thing and you let me do mine. We are not concerned about corporate identity; I’m concerned about my identity.[ii]
Some of this sounds good, I admit. We need to tolerate our differences and respect contrary opinions. However, pluralism has its drawbacks too. With pluralism…
a) We believe that anything goes – After defeating the city of Jericho the Israelites were bolstered in their self-esteem. The next target was Ai, a little outpost town that should not have caused much trouble. Joshua sent spies to check it out and this is what they said:
“Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there,” (7:3).
Pluralistic thinking ignores the details. In acknowledging the individual and allowing each to go their own way it is difficult to forge ahead with a central goal. Each person will have a different opinion on how to accomplish the task. The acknowledged leaders, who are more like facilitators, gather the variety of information and in order to make everyone happy come up with a plan that pleases everyone.
Four errors are noted in this text that applies to us as well. 1) We cannot ignore sin in the group (Achan’s sin was not detected), 2) we cannot underestimate the strength of the enemy (Satan loves division), 3) we cannot overestimate our strength, and 4) we cannot take the Lord for granted (they assumed God was with them).
b) We are divided and defeated – When a group like this attempts to accomplish a goal, defeat is not far away. Though united in tolerance and respect, it is inevitable that factions within the larger group will look to blame other factions for the failure.
Israel faced their defeat with shock. They could not understand how after their great victory they could suffer defeat. Even Joshua began to doubt God’s plan: “Alas, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!” (7:7).
Pluralism promotes engagement with diversity. Pluralism seeks to understand differences. It seeks to dialogue on those differences. But in the end, while these are good goals in theory, pluralism fractures the group. And when they stop blaming each other for the failures, they blame God for failing them all. At least on that count they are united.
c) We forget that God works through community – While pluralism is an excuse to shift blame to others, God sees the community as a whole unit. God points to Israel as that unit that has sinned.
The result is devastating to any community. “That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction,” (7:12). God works through community; community that is divided cannot be used.
The strongest element in the African church is its sense of community. It is in such a community – lived out both within the church and before the world – that the African proverb is most realized, “I am because you are; if you are not, I cannot be.”[iii] Western cultures don’t get that. We prize being true to self, independence, self-reliance and freedom from others. African Christians and other non-Western believers believe that maturity is best seen in your willingness to depend on the pooled wisdom of the group.
God intended for us to live in community, in relationship and dependence on one another. Individualism, protected by pluralism only weakens community.
3. Relativism: I’ll decide my own truth
Individualism and pluralism ultimately lead to relativism. If we said that next Sunday everyone should wear a tie, even the women, made it a law, there would be strong objections for obvious reasons. To make such an absolute demand to wear a tie is to take responsibility away from individuals. It would just be inappropriate.
Relativism is more serious but similar. Relativism is the philosophical position that all points of view are equally valid, and that all truth is relative to the individual. Instead of the issue of ties consider abortion, pornography or homosexuality. The argument for individualism can easily be made with pluralism and relativism backing it up. Pluralism affirms our differences with the need to respect and tolerate those differences (you have your view, I have mine). Relativism says, not only do you have your view and me mine, but since truth is not absolute, we do not need to judge each other.
A favorite humorous response of young teens today is “don’t judge me.” I even use it jokingly at the table if I belch. In a serious way it is the spirit of our age. Most of us truly believe that no one has the right to judge us for our actions. Walk in my shoes before you criticize. He’s cranky but we don’t know what he’s had to put up with.
When Joshua and all Israel found Achan guilty of taking the devoted things, that which belonged to God, they had him and his family and all his stuff stoned and burned (7:24-26). Can you imagine the outcry in the Free Press and on Twitter or Facebook if this happened today? How dare they judge that poor man?
Truly this is an intense reaction. They killed a man for defiling the community. But we don’t realize just how serious God views the community. God would never command such an action today, and for one very good reason: One man was killed to create a new community with an absolute standard of truth that governs them all.
Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’” Obviously, in God’s view, there is such thing as right and wrong. And in God’s community established on the sacrifice of Christ, his people adhere to absolute truth. I am not my own truth; community agrees on what is true. This community believes in the truth of Christ; that is our rallying point.
Towards a Biblical Restoration of Community
What is our response to Individualism, Pluralism and Relativism? These are threats to the community of faith built on the truth of Christ. How do we reverse the affects of the –isms?
Galatians 6:1-10 paints a picture of what community in the church ought to look like. Here are some principles that we want to build with:
1. Sin is a community issue – Paul said, “If someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently,” (6:1). Unlike ancient Israel, we don’t kill our sinners, we gather around him or her to pray and help restore that person to spiritual maturity. Your sins are our problem.
2. Community is about helping – If one thing draws seekers to Christ it is seeing love in action. “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ,” (6:2). Many are afraid of looking too needy if they ask for help; some who have asked have been turned down. Helping is a priority for a community of faith. Community is about being inter-dependent, not independent.
3. We don’t “own” God’s stuff – Let’s remember who owns the church and all of us. Verses 3-5 call for humility from each member. This is not my sermon; it’s our sermon. This is not my church; its God’s church.
4. What we sow we will reap (6:7-8) – If we plant seeds of criticism, mistrust, conspiracy, and selfishness, guess what we will harvest? Our goal is to plant seeds of love that are in keeping with the spirit of Christ’s community.
5. Community is about doing good (6:9-10) – Paul said not to become weary in doing good, especially to those in the family of believers. Doing good for others is a hallmark of community. Doing good means more than physical labor. It means that though we oppose abortion, we meet the needs of unwed mothers. It means that though we object to alternative lifestyles, we welcome gays and lesbians to experience the love of Christ.
KEMC is a community that was intended to do good in Christ’s name. It is a place where the dream of a community that welcomes everyone can be a reality.
Lord Jesus, forgive us for our self-centeredness. Help us to understand what it means to be one in Christ. This is not our church; it took a cross to save us all and it is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring us together in one body. There is no room for boasting or ego trips. Make us a community of Christ that is useful in your kingdom. AMEN
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