Parasites verses Symbiosis.
For those of us brought up in Africa we know what tick bite
fever is, I think they call it Lime's disease in the USA. It is a nasty little
parasite that sucks the blood and leaves behind a nasty bite and a little later
a fever and sickness that will leave you feeling really unwell. Whenever I
think about the word parasite I always see it in a negative sense and think
about that little tick that inhabits the African bush.
For those of us brought up in Africa we know what tick bite
fever is, I think they call it Lime's disease in the USA. It is a nasty little
parasite that sucks the blood and leaves behind a nasty bite and a little later
a fever and sickness that will leave you feeling really unwell. Whenever I
think about the word parasite I always see it in a negative sense and think
about that little tick that inhabits the African bush.
"So why the sudden interest in ticks you may ask?"
As
Church leaders there is a great need for us to choose our words and the way we
phrase what we say very carefully. This is one such occasion when a church
leader used, I believe, the wrong words to put across a good idea.
The other day I was
having lunch with a young leader who in all sincerity said to me that in church
he felt there were two types of people, those who were parasitic in their
relationship or those who had a symbiotic relationship with the church. He
explained that people who just came to church every Sunday were parasites in
that they came to church just to receive and not to give. Those who had a
symbiotic relationship came to church to see what they could give and they in
return also received.
In other words he considered those who came to church twice
on Sundays, tithed regularly were faithful and loving in their relationships
but did nothing else in church as parasites. And those who served every Sunday,
got involved in everything on offer, they were the ones he referred to as
symbiotic.
The problem I have is this, it sounds to me like we are
trying to create two different levels of citizenship in the Kingdom of God.
Those who serve and those who do not. I also think that using such terms as
these is not helpful. As I have said I always associate the word parasite with
negative connotations.
There are many reasons why people do not want to get
involved in church, they see perhaps that their relationship is different and
they don't want to get involved with the hype that surrounds service in church.
They just want to come in, sit quietly and enjoy the experience while being
faithful in attendance and giving and exercising a Christian faith that
reflects Christ. Others may want to get involved be up front or behind the scenes, enjoying the hustle and bustle of church life on Sundays
Whatever the desire is lets love everybody all the same and
see the contribution, no matter how great or small, given at whatever level as
an act of sacrifice.
I am not a tick!
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