“Community is everything”
The message is everywhere
I just listened to another podcast, from a guy I respect, where a big part of the message was “community is everything.”And while I certainly get what he’s talking about…and it makes sense…I also know something he might not have considered.
A big community is everything until it’s not.
Building a huge community, these days, isn’t as difficult as it was in the days before digital technology and social media. And as long as you provide relevant information (or entertainment) to an interested audience, the possibilities are virtually unlimited. But mass appeal requires a key component I’m not willing to plug into my Rhyme and Reason Empire…
Compromise.
My Dad used to illustrate a compromise between good and bad with his two hands. One hand he held up near his eyes. And he held the other hand near his waist. Then he’d say, “This hand, up here, is good. And this hand, down here, is bad. Now, let’s say they have to compromise. So, what does the good hand have to do in order for the bad hand to be raised up a little in compromise? That’s right. The good hand has to be lowered a little.”
And with that simple illustration, even as a boy, I realized you should never compromise what’s true and right.
God never compromises on what’s true and right.
And He knows it won’t build the biggest community. In fact, He says the biggest community will have nothing to do with Him. What?! Can that be right? I mean…He’s God. If anyone could build humanity’s biggest community, it would be Him…right?
Nope.
Most of the people who believe building the biggest community is everything will ultimately find themselves in the biggest community. And membership is forever. No cancellations. No exits.
So, I understand how and why some well-meaning people believe it’s crucial to build as big a community as possible. And on an extremely temporary level that’s true. But, for Christians who know Job One is rightly dividing the Word of Truth and sharing it with the world, it requires too much compromise.
I’ve certainly been guilty of compromising God’s message with sugar-coated and disguised lyrics in some of my songs. But as I’ve gotten much closer to the end of my time here on Earth, I’ve realized the futility of that strategy. It’s not much of a strategy when you don’t highlight the most powerful community building tool there is. God’s Word.
Helping as many people as possible get into God’s eternal community is everything worth anything. I hope and pray I’m an effective voice for that purpose.
And, as always, remember: Life has Rhyme and Reason because God made you.
Stay tuned,
In each episode of the FunderCast, Tony Funderburk shares how life makes sense because God made you. He’s the author and publisher of 34 books for adults and kids and a songwriter with hundreds of songs to his credit. Get some free songs and a book for kids by jumping on the <a href="https://www.tonyfunderburk.com/">The FunderFlash</a> today.
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