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By Matt Guerino|Published Date: February 22, 2010
Reversing The Curse, Part 1 of 8
A central feature in the Biblical view of life is The Curse: the understanding that things are bad – that they’re not the way they’re supposed to be – because the world and everything in it has been broken by mankind’s sin. Jesus came to reverse The Curse by eliminating its cause (mankind’s sin) through his death and resurrection. He then returned to heaven, sending his redeemed followers out into the world to live lives that imitate his Curse-reversing mission.
The assumption is that as Christians live in this broken world, we will encounter the results of The Curse just as everyone does. However, the Christian’s calling in such instances is to be a redemptive influence – to reverse The Curse through the power of God’s Spirit living in us. This column is the first in a monthly series that will examine practical ways that Christians can begin to reverse The Curse right now in each of 8 worldview: Relationships, Government, Creation/Environment, Culture, Economics & Vocation, Education & Human Development, Religion, and Science & Technology.
"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor… Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited."
Romans 12:9-16
Broken Relationships
God explains The Curse by describing the effects it has on human existence. And near the top of this list of negative effects is broken human relationships.
When first announcing The Curse in Genesis 3:16 God tells Eve “your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you.” He’s saying that because of The Curse, strife will now be the norm between husbands and wives. At that point each spouse came to see the other not as a partner to be loved and served, but as a competitor to be defeated. Humanity’s most intimate relationship, marriage, was wrecked. And this became the pattern for all human relationships from that point on: rather than a selfless orientation toward the other (love), The Curse means we now default to a selfish orientation toward meeting our own needs. And relationships suffer as a result.
America: Going Fast… Alone
A popular African proverb states, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Modern America has largely opted to go fast, alone. Never before has a society existed in which people are as free, autonomous, and mobile as we are now. We go where we want to go, whenever and with whomever we choose. We are free to make our life look the way we want it to look, largely unshackled by such historic constraints as family expectations, cultural and religious norms, poverty, and lack of education & mobility.
But in the process of embracing such advances we’ve also cut ourselves off from many of the things that help form deep relationships. The result is a society full of incredibly free, highly mobile… and very lonely people.
So how do we handle our loneliness? Typically, the same way handle every other problem we encounter: we shop for a solution. As consumers we’re accustomed to choosing from among several options for desired goods and services, whether we need a compact SUV, a digital television package, or a new water heater.
Who’s Got The Best Deal On Relationships?
So perhaps it’s no surprise that we tend to think in similar terms when we need close relationships. This can be seen in the way people select everything from dating services to social activities with friends; and even the way they select churches.
For many, tops on the priority list of items to look for in a new church is relationships. How friendly do the people seem? Did the pastor say hello to me? Did anyone invite me out to lunch after church? This is not all bad of course, and churches should surely strive to do these things well. But there is a hidden danger behind these questions.
If we’re not careful, we can come to see Biblical community through consumer lenses. We can start to see community as something one discovers, in much the same way one finds the best deal on a new car or an HDTV. Community can come to be seen as a service that local churches market to prospective congregants; something other people do to and for us.
A Different Picture
What is God’s ideal for church community? The Biblical phrase most frequently used to describes community in the church is “one another.” As in pray for one another, bear one another’s burdens, encourage one another, be kind to one another, exhort one another, teach one another, admonish one another, be patient with one another, and love one another. Two important lessons about community become apparent from this Biblical list of “one-anothers.”
First, Biblical community is all about, well… one another! This means community in church isn’t a few key insiders, such as the pastor, reaching out to the masses. That would make community a top-down thing; something done to us, and which we largely receive. Instead, the Bible is describing community as all of us reaching out to all of us. Biblical community is a delightfully organic thing, engaging every person in a vitalizing dance of giving and receiving.
Second, a direct implication of the “one-another” nature of Biblical community is that it is not something you find. It is something you help make. Because of its one-another nature, community can’t be boxed and put on a shelf for discovery. It isn’t a commodity that awaits ready churchgoers at the best churches. Community is not something we find at church; community is something we help create at church.
Reverse The Curse By One-Anothering
Community happens when I determine to be a “one-anothering” kind of person, and I seek opportunities to share love, grace, patience, encouragement, and burden-bearing with those around me. This does not necessarily require me to have a socially outgoing personality. Rather, it requires that I spend enough time getting to know people that I learn what needs they have, and what kinds of things will encourage them. Then it requires me to take a little risk, by stepping out and meeting that need.
Here, relationship is moving in the opposite direction of The Curse. Rather than spending my energy attempting to meet my needs at others’ expense, as in Genesis 3:16, I am meeting others’ needs at my own expense. I’m also imitating Jesus who left his rightful lofty position in heaven to come to earth, live as a man, and die in our place.
Every time we love and serve others in this way, we’re touching another person’s life powerfully. We become Jesus to them, we begin a strong relationship, and we make God’s church a little bit more like what he wants it to be. And best of all, we will have helped reverse The Curse, with its community-killing tendencies toward the self, one relationship at a time.
And that’s much better than anything you can get from a box.
For more insight into this aspect of our calling, read the article, "The Ties That Bind," by Chuck Colson. Or get the book, Paul's Idea of Community, by Robert Banks at our online store.
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