Diane over at Crossroads (get well soon) sent me an e-mail linking me to this article by Brad Hightower that really sums up most Christian experiences today.

The article talks about a scene in the movie Traitor where Samir tells Omar

“They used us for our faith”

and how the zealousness generally associated with faith was used either for political purposes, personal gain, or for fighting ‘enemies’ while at the same time compromised and muddled the true meaning of the faith.

It seems in most cases, this usually happens. The zealousness of our faith gets exploited to fulfill some big-time preachers personal whims and agendas

…to see a bigger church and a bigger building

…to see the creation of a Christian utopia

…to see the gain of public notoriety via book sales and conferences

…to see the influence and affluence to affect government policy

that in many ways actually compromises and weakens the same Gospel these people claim told them to do the things they do. Forming a Christian utopia where sin is eliminated and outlawed goes against the evangelical mandate of reaching the lost is a great example of where this can go haywire.

To most people, when they were used for their faith. They ended up feeling ‘used up’ and what was the beginnings of a faith is now a nonexistent faith scattered to and fro where tradition, ritual, and mandates replaced relationships, discipleship, and evangelism.

That is why I always have a problem when people say

‘use me Lord’

Do you like getting ‘used’? Of course not. In fact the term ‘used’ is really not in the Bible. What you really see here is people who submitted to and obeyed God and God moved on their behalf

Plan and simple…..