Lessons I learned from Poison

So I'm out mowing the lawn yesterday and listening to the radio (I'm iPod-less). All the sudden the DJ spins "Something to Believe in" by rock band Poison. I'm thrown back into my teenage memories of when the song was released on MTV. This was during the time period when hard rock bands were battling it out to see who could write the coolest ballads.

Back in those days, I was a mind-wondering Preacher's Kid that was always thinking about things the church does and wondering if there was always a biblical reason for what the Church does, and even wondering if the Church does enough of the right things.

Consider the opening lyrics to this Poison tune:
"Will I see him on the TV
Preachin bout the promised land
He tells me to believe in Jesus
And steals the money from my hand
Some say he was a good man
But lord I think he sinned, yeah"

There are a couple of issues I could have with a person expressing these thoughts.

1) I hope the Church has not been found pan handling or soliciting funds for herself. There is a biblical precident seen in the New Testament where the Apostle Paul taught congregations to gather funds for two reasons. One, to honor God by placing your faith in him and giving a gift to God so that He knows you know where your providence comes from. Two, to provide resources for those that cannot provide for themselves. At the time that was typically widows and orphans but regardless, Paul instructed that men selected by the congragation should decide where that money can best be used.

2) No one is "good" but God. While Jesus' lifestyle is sought after by the believer, ALL BELIEVERS ARE 100% SINNERS. There is a presumption some times that a church attendee has all his or her issues worked out. The longer they attend, the better they should be. The only difference the between the unbeliever and the believer is that the believer accepts the gift of God's Salvation through all that Jesus Christ accomplished. The believer is no less a sinner than the unbeliever, but he will live differently because he is trying to follow Christ's commandments and because he has a peace about the future of his life. When someone brings an unbeliever to church they should impress the idea that the other people there struggle with the same sin and temptations of life. The only difference is Christ but, man, what a huge difference He makes!

The song lyrics continue down a list of sad life stories and the chorus continues to demand a response:

"And give me something to believe in
If theres a Lord above
And give me something to believe in
Oh, Lord arise"

And while there are many optional religions to choose from, Poison seems to have Christianity in mind with tips from other lyrics. The truth, not the answer most want to hear, is that Christ did arise... from the dead. The Bible is full of the truth of Christ's events and declaration of His identity. Also the answers of how to live the peaceful life (and live free from sin) are also included. There is no secret to this wonderful life... it has always been preached and taught since the day Jesus was here. And it is even more available ever since the printing press was invented. But there is a difference between believing in truth or seeking evidence for what you want truth to be.

I have learned that many times the Church could learn more about what she should be doing if she would listen to the sincere cries of the world more often. I wrote about the peace of the believer and this is the downside... for the American Christian it is easy to take that peace and turn a blind eye to the needs of the communities within our country. We rely on our government to provide for the needs of its people. Hmm, but that is the behavior that Christ taught us to do as a Church, and Paul further instructed the Church to provide specific minitry opportunites to for these needs of the community. But the American Churches sit back in peace and let the government do the dirty work.

I'm not spotless here (remember, I sin). But I can't break out of this typical American lifestyle and just live a life of service. Sure, I serve people real well when I am getting paid. But I don't spend a lot of time doing it for free. It makes me wonder where Bret Michaels is today.

What Would Poison Do?