Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

Wherever there is chaos there will always be confusion. And where confusion reigns, people will always revert to the natural instinct to survive. The basic instinct of flight or fight kicks in. The breakup of the family unit during the days of slavery set in motion a pattern that has continued for many generations from then. This is indeed the curse of slavery or the sin of slavery. As descendants of slaves, the propensity to disrespect authority and authority figures is still prevalent among us. This occurs at all levels and we see this happening from a young age among our children. I believe that this is a direct product of the Willie Lynch theory which goes against the biblical model of honour and respect for the elders. Among the generations of Christians who are supposed to be ‘in Christ’ there are many who still operate out of the state of confusion that the ‘sin of slavery’ has implemented. My contention is this: although these people are ‘saved’ and are in positions of authority, they have never been delivered by having their minds renewed. This undelivered mindset causes untold trouble for them and the fellowship they belong to as they are unable to work in harmony with most people.

This is how it works. They start off well and are very helpful, usually they are very talented people, but after a little while they initiate some confusion. This confusion is usually over trivia since their disrespect for authority or authority figures kicks in. So they complain, moan and get other undelivered people on their side to cause factions. Like the opponents of Moses during the Exodus, they always see the glass half empty, always have a better plan and are always willing to let the leadership know that they are hearing from God also. This spirit of rebellion is still prevalent among us and particularly so among those people whose ancestors justifiably rebelled against the slavers and institutional forms of racism that is still around today.

However, as people of God, we need to walk in the fact that Christ became the curse for us (Gal 3:13) so that we no longer need to operate under the curse and become slaves to sin. We can start the process of deliverance by repenting; repentance involves a change of mind, so that we can respect the leaders whom God has placed over us in the church and also in the community in spite of their character flaws.  Today, read 1Peter 2 to see how this new generation of Royal Priests should operate.