Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
Peter only desires to know and serve the Lord. He sees group dynamics as a frustration to his personal walk with the Lord. In this regard he is not alone.
Ideally, the group should encourage and reinforce the personal walk. Unfortunately, other things happen along the way. I understand that too. There was a time when I felt like an old mule being run into the ground, being whipped for moving too slow, and trying to encourage myself by all those vain promises like, "whenever the church is blessed, you are blessed too."
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I don't doubt
Peter's heart a bit. I just think one growth item the Lord has in store for us is to be able to negotiate these dealings with others and groups, to be good team players and servants of others, while still maintaining in one's heart a sole devotion to the Lord. Or maybe it's better to say it the other way around: to maintain sole devotion to the Lord, but to also be a good team player and serve others.
In my experience it comes down to being loyal to Christ alone, yet still realizing he wants us to serve others. To have the attitude that, no matter what, the Lord will not let me be exploited, but will bless my genuine service to him that is expressed in serving others.
If you are truly given to the Lord then you can give yourself to others without worrying about being taken advantage of, because you know the Lord is your defender. I think this is the way to approach the pitfalls of group involvement.
One key is just to not worry what others think.
Trust me, I'm still a work in progress. But I'm happier and freer than I've ever been, though I care for my agenda and reputation less. At the same time (as you guys have probably noticed) I don't get pushed around much.
Kind of paradoxical.