Crumbs
- Larry Kutzler
- Jan 7
- 3 min read
My wife has axe to grind with me most days because I am a sloppy eater. For some reason, I eat and drop a lot of crumbs, and at times I am eating watching television. It doesn’t matter what I am eating, I am dropping crumbs … the collateral damage of my appetite. So recently, I wrote a piece for Facebook using this illustration. I will comment more following this post.
My wife says that if you educate the mind, but not the heart, not much will change. (She was referring to my eating and dropping crumbs) Aside from crumbs, this applies to most of life. Recently, I saw a ministry promoting education on social justice issues. To me, this comes back to crumb droppings. Just pursuing education without changing the heart, is simply dropping crumbs. Only God changes the heart, which is why Jesus said, “Seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness,” and things will fall into place. His Kingdom is not about social justice; His Kingdom is about Himself and His righteousness … period. Educate yourself in His Kingdom, and social justice issues will change. A changed heart will stop the crumb droppings. Just ask my wife … she is still hopeful a heart change is coming. ~Larry Kutzler, Facebook Post
My Thoughts
So, my thinking on addendums that usually are attached to the Gospel will always take on a life of its own and leave the main thought of Jesus in the dust. They become the crumps that come from the main meal. It is a big deal to me because we are using the Gospel to preach a bias of a personal nature, but giving it a foundation of being Christ centered. I think this is disingenuous. The point of being Christ centered is just that … the foundation and focus is on Christ, not the addendum item you want to promote.
Two examples come to mind that most of us are familiar with … the prosperity gospel, and the social justice movement. Both have their ideas that Jesus would be involved in these causes. I am not here to debate either of them, but Jesus talked about belief and the values of God. One could make an argument that the Gospel endorses these ideas, but as I said, the endorsement always gets bigger than the endorser. Jesus was clear … put God first in your priorities, seek Him above everything else, and that focus will guide you in truth and give you direction. This is how Jesus put it:
Matthew 6:33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.
Take This to Heart
Don’t study and pursue things apart from the One who you say you follow. By following some of the addendums presented in the Church will only lead you further away from the Godly character that Jesus is wanting to create in you. Pursuing influence and the resources of this world, or emotionally romancing the idea of fighting for justice, can all have an impact, but the greatest impact is to obtain a desire to love God with all your heart, mind, and soul. Review your addendum inventory, and make sure Jesus isn’t just an item on your list.
Challenging the Culture with Truth … Larry Kutzler