I was raised with the teaching "we speak where the Bible speaks; we are silent where the Bible is silent." Sounded great. Made for a catchy motto. For a long time, I even believed it.
The truth is - I believe the sentiment in the slogan. The trouble is - we in the churches of Christ haven't been very effective in living it out.
Let me give you one example. James tells us that when we are sick to call the elders of the church to annoint us with oil and pray over us. How many of us do that? James doesn't tell us how "sick" sick is - a cold or do we wait for cancer? In my experience this is one of the most ignored verses in the Bible.
In the last few months, my shepherds have anointed me with oil. My fellow pastors have annointed me with oil. You could say - I'm a well oiled preacher!
Why do we ignore this admonition? What are we afraid of? Anyone have an insight?
2 comments:
A wise man in the mountains once told me,"It's easier to talk about nails and drywall than it is to delve into relationships with man." What an incredibly close encounter with God to share with another human being! The anointed as well as the annointers must present themselves in a somewhat vulnerable/transparent state for such a genuine experience to take place.
Anointing is also a very intimate, soul bearing experience, and in our American culture, I think it is hard for some men to deal with the emotional closeness and physical proximity of such an experience. So we just brush it off and suggest that the verse is being metaphorical. hahaha...metaphors.
Great topic though, I need to pray about this idea more.
What kind of oil is appropriate for anointing? Do you use Wesson corn oil? Do you use peanut oil? Is Olive oil the biblical oil? Is proper anointing the act of pouring the chosen oil onto a persons head or can you just let one drop hit the chosen spot? Does God's grace cover any mistakes in anointing?
My experience says that "Speak where the bible speaks..." was, and may still be for some, a wishful facade. It never truly happened.
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