Are You Easily Edified?
Are You Easily Edified?
Are you and I easily edified (i.e., taught and instructed) when it comes to biblically-grounded teaching and preaching that we take in? Or do we tend to be “picky,” critical, and disparaging? Before going on, I confess that I am largely exploring this question for my own sake, and you as the reader are welcome to come along for the ride. The impetus for exploring this question was birthed by a combination of Bible teacher Gavin Ortlund’s thoughts and an excerpt from C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters. In this excerpt, Lewis says the following (via the more senior demon who is talking to the junior demon):
“You mentioned casually in your last letter that the patient [a Christian] has continued to attend one church, and one only, since he was converted, and that he is not wholly pleased with it….Why have I no report on the causes of his fidelity to the parish church? Do you reali[z]e that unless it is due to indifference it is a very bad thing? Surely you know that if a man can’t be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighborhood looking for the church that “suits” him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches….[T]he search for a “suitable” church makes the man a critic where the Enemy [God] wants him to be a pupil. What He wants of the layman in church is an attitude which may, indeed, be critical in the sense of rejecting what is false or unhelpful, but which is wholly uncritical in the sense that it does not appraise—does not waste time in thinking about what it rejects, but lays itself open in uncommenting, humble recepting to any nourishment…”
In other words, in this fictional account the Christian man at the center of the demons’ angst is someone who is faithful to his church, but who has no misgivings that his church is perfect. There may even be aspects of his church that he has strong preferences against. He may not be fond of the worship songs or style of musical accompaniment (what church perfectly aligns with our musical tastes?). He might inwardly and initially groan when certain fellow church members open their mouths (you’ve been there). He might even think to himself, “The pastor left many things unsaid in today’s sermon that I would’ve liked to hear” (no sermon can be exhaustive, and we must beware comparing the “average” pastor to the celebrity pastor whose podcast we follow religiously).
Nevertheless, Lewis says that this godly man can simultaneously acknowledge these differences and yet be graciously open to all the spiritual nourishment that is put before him. Instead of focusing on what isn’t said in the sermon (and complaining about it in his heart—and maybe even out loud to his family or friends), his disposition is to let those things go so that he may feast on the true and wonderful biblical teaching that is put before him. This person has the ability to look for the “glass half full” and to hear basic biblical truth as delightful to their soul, rather than complain about how the preacher lacks oratory skill or failed to expound on all the fine points of a theological detail.
As Orlund says, imagine what your response would be if a pastor announces that he’ll be preaching from John 3:16. Would you mentally roll your eyes, thinking you’ve already heard all that could possibly be said? Would you be acting more as a cynical spectator (e.g., “This oughta be good – let’s see how he can keep me awake today”) than a humble, thankful participant (e.g., “Wow, God really does love me”).
I know I’ve been prone at times in the past to a kind of critical spirit that looks for reasons to nit-pick a pastor or Bible teacher’s sermon or lesson. While I want to be discerning, discernment is different than a critical spirit. As a Christian, I want to be easily edified. That is, to find and savor spiritual nourishment wherever it may be found—and to be aware of how others around me may also be nourished. May we be more the pupil mentioned by Lewis, and increasingly less the critic.
