The plain and simple truth

Not only did Paul leave the false front, but look at how he explains how spoke: . 2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And then . 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power.

Have you ever had the pleasure of listening to a politician give a speech? By the time it is over you look around and see a bunch of blank stares, but that fella must of said something…look at all of the hundred thousand dollar words he used! ….You know he graduated form Duke……he is soooo much smarter than me, he must know what he is talking about, so I will trust him!~

We all have a tendency to do that you know? I can honestly say that this is something I fight with on a personal level. If I can’t win with knowledge I will win by trying to seem so smart, that I must be right!

I have a friend that loves to tell stories, of course all of them have a profound moral at the end, or they are stories of how something changed his viewpoint, whatever the case they are always entertaining…..and they tend to be a little well……what shall we say…….less than honest…..to say the least. The thing about the stories is you can tell just how much of that story is on the edge of honesty, by the words he uses. The less truth, the bigger the words! Sometimes I have to go look words up after he tells the story, just so I know exactly what he was trying to say!

The point here is that Paul did not have to, nor should we have to, embellish, or make things sound better than they are, or try to “sell” someone on Christ. Paul did not talk of anything but Christ, and Christ being crucified. What else is there?

The fact that we do not need to dress up the word or the Lord is because His message is quite simple. It was taught by Christ simply, and that is how we should carry on. When we spend more time worrying about how we are going to say something, than what we actually say, we miss the opportunity to clearly state the word of God.

SO if the Lord does not need a false front, why do you? If the truth is best explained using simple words and simple ideas, then why do you try to build your life up to look larger than it is? Is Christ not enough?

I remember when I was a kid, there was a new neighborhood that went up. Everyone wanted in! It had the nicest houses, great craftsmanship, great location……everything was considered perfect! There was of course one catch, it was not cheap to move in. The houses were expensive to say the least. Yet that just made it all the more attractive to many people.

As the houses went up, people moved in. One could not help but notice that people that did not have the means to make that move, bought houses anyway. I talked with a friend of mine that moved out there, and he told me that some people moved in, yet the house payment stretched their budget so far, that they could not afford to buy furniture for the house.

Could you imagine? You have this nice new house, it is everything that you want, yet once you get in, you cannot make it a home! Oh sure, you get to tell everyone that you live in this great neighborhood, but your not going to invite anyone over to an empty house. You might talk with great excitement about your neighbors, and the amenities in the neighborhood, yet most of the people you tell about it, will never get to see it because all you have is the outside appearance, and the address. Is that really what your working for?

Peace,
Rev. Thetford