Danger 5:     I have been going to the same church all my life because that is where I was raised. Click here for part 4.

There often comes a point in time when we do not question things anymore. And although in some subjects that could be good (perhaps because of well-founded convictions), in some others it could be downright dangerous. Why are we going to a particular church, for example, is a question we should always be ready to answer. And simply because that is where we were raised, or simply because that is where we were first introduced to Christ is “never” a right answer! Matter of fact, one of these could be the very reason why we are no longer learning anything new.

But God is clear on the fact that sometimes, we need different teachers at different times in our lives.

1 Corinthians 3:5-7 – What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.

There is a planting, and there is a watering. And although these could be performed in the same environment (i.e. same people or church), 1 Corinthians clearly shows that this does not need to be the case. In part 1 of this series, we saw that the lack of knowledge – the knowledge of God’s will and intent for our lives – is the deadly enemy of men. It is the lack of knowledge that destroys man. Knowledge, on the contrary, preserves life. God’s children should always be after that life-preserving knowledge.

What we need to remind ourselves of constantly is who we really are. Putting constantly in remembrance who we are will eventually cause us to behave like who we really are. So who are we? God’s children, of course. But keeping the context of spiritual growth in mind, God describes us in a very revealing way.

1 Corinthians 3:9 – For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Our belonging is to God. Those who help us grow are co-workers as they work for the same purpose, whether they know each other or not. But as God’s field, as His building, it is God’s privilege to appoint each of His workers at the right time and the right place. What we need to do is to recognize this fact.

God is ultimately the reason why one grows in that life-preserving knowledge. But God may use different agents to teach us what we need when we need it, if only we will allow Him to do so. If we choose to stay in the same church simply for habitual reasons, then we may close doors of knowledge that God would have so freely opened to us.