I’ve always been the kind of person who tried to do things by myself. I was the “lone wolf”, so to speak. I never wanted help with anything. My parents still tell the story of when I was 4 years old, at the grocery store with my dad. I got it into my head that I wanted to push the shopping cart myself, even though I was unable to see over it. So, I told my dad that was what I wanted to do.
His response was, “Why don’t I just stand up front here and help you steer it? You can push it by yourself.” I didn’t want any part of that. You see, I was a faith kid. I knew the Word. I knew what confessions to make. So, I defiantly told my dad, “No, I don’t need any help! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”
Now, at this instant, I’ve put my dad between a rock and a hard place. You see, he knew there was no way I could push the cart by myself. I was going to crash into something, or worse, someone. But, at the same time, he’s been teaching me to believe God and put the Word to work for myself. The last thing you want to do put a damper on the faith of a child.
So, he let me keep confessing the Word, but he decided to help me out. He stood up near the front of the cart, and guided me as I pushed. I was none the wiser.
Why do I tell you that story? Well, to put it simply, like me as a child, we often need help, and we’re either too stubborn to realize it or too proud to admit it. I know for me, it was often pride that got in the way.
I remember in High School or College, I would often refuse to go for extra help if I needed it, because I was able to understand it myself! In fact, for me to admit I needed help in an area would have been one of the toughest things for me to do because I would have felt stupid for asking for help. Again, pride is the culprit here.
This is an issue that has plagued humanity for years. This “Go It Alone” attitude. You see, you weren’t designed to go through life alone. God even said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18)
Most of the time, we use that verse to refer to a spouse, but I think there is a broader application, if we’ll step outside of our tradition for a minute. I think God is not only saying Adam needed a spouse, but that he needed people around him. A community, if you will.
Community is one of the most overused words in the church today, but I think there is an extreme need for Biblical community.
Your community is those people around you, and those people you can go to. People you seek advice and counsel from. God has given us the Holy Spirit for these tasks, but He’s also given us godly people.
We’re supposed to be able to go to our community for help. The Bible says in Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” The constant contact with others is supposed to help us. Help sharpen us, strengthen us, keep us on task.
We need this help. One of the biggest things I’ve been learning lately is how helpful to people the accountability side of a community can be. A community is made up of imperfect people. Imperfect people sin. They have problems they are dealing with. Often times, modern Christianity has gone and swept those things under the rug, with the idea being, “If we don’t talk about them, there is no way they can affect us.”
Sadly, ideas like that have gone and gotten us to the place we are in in the church. Issues that should be discussed and out in the open, such as struggles with drugs, alcohol, pornography and masturbation are simply not talked about. We act like an ostrich when these things occur-we bury our heads in the sand and convince ourselves that, “If I can’t see it, it’s not happening.”
We don’t need more of the same. We need to have the openness that only community can provide. When we are ready to admit our need for help, our community should be there to help us. If we’re being tempted to sin, a simple text message sent to a friend who has your back letting them know you’re fighting temptation gives them an opportunity to reach out and help you. You see, a true community is constantly building up and helping others.
We weren’t made to go through life alone. We weren’t designed to struggle with sin and feelings of condemnation, or whatever else you might be dealing with. Of course we can go to God, but He has placed people around us to encourage us to stick with what we know to be true.
However, this community can only begin with a simple declaration.
I. Need. Help.
Isn’t that why we came to Jesus in the first place? We realized we couldn’t do it alone? We needed help?
We need to have the courage to admit it again.