Welcome back to all of our listeners! I’m BJ Sipe, and you’re listening to the Set Your Mind Above podcast – where everyday ordinary events teach us extraordinary eternal truths. I’m so glad that you’ve tuned in today, I am excited to share my life and my faith with you, and I sure hope that you’ll do the same with me along the way.
I have had the pleasure of spending some time of the last couple of days with two of our most life tenured members, Earl & Lu Adams. By life tenured, I mean that we spent part of our time yesterday talking about Earl’s upcoming 97th birthday! I’ve spoken about these two before on this podcast, as they have been married longer than most people have been alive: 75 years! Today I went back to set up live streaming on their tablet for our worship services so that they can follow along in real time since they are not able to make it out to be with us. As I pulled into the parking lot both yesterday and today, my eyes gravitated toward the field across from the retirement home that was full of downed trees. The storm that hit central Kentucky along with the rest of the South & Midwest had taken out quite a few of them over the weekend. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest and knowing enough about trees, I was able to quickly notice that the trees that had fallen had signs of already being unhealthy. And there was a clear sign as to what could have contributed to them looking so sick – each of them was full of mistletoe in the top of the trees. What does mistletoe have to do with anything? Well, if you’re like me, before the past few months the extent of my mistletoe knowledge was that it was a Christmas decoration that you hang up to try and snag a smooch from your spouse. And…that was about all I knew. As it turns out, mistletoe is not quite as romantic as most of us have been led to believe. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. In short, mistletoe is a parasite. Yep, you heard me right. North American oak mistletoe, at least the most common kind, comes from the genus Phoradendron, which is Greek for “tree thief.” Mistletoe berries are actually white & toxic to humans, and each one contains a sticky seed that typically will attach themselves to a bird and be carried to another tree. When the seed lands on a different host tree, it will grow roots into the tree and steal its nutrients and water the surrounding branches. As it grows, it will form into what looks like a birds nest called a “witches’ broom” that many different varieties of birds and squirrels will nest in. In summary, this plant is not as holly & jolly as we make it out to be, in fact, if enough form on the same tree – it will suck the life literally out of the tree and kill it from the inside out. That is exactly why all of the downed trees I was seeing were so sickly in appearance, they had been destroyed by the mistletoe that had joined itself to the tree. In all honesty, I have no idea who came up with the idea that people should use this parasite during Christmas and play tonsil hockey underneath of it. Supposedly, it dates back as late as the 1500’s in Europe, but our current tradition was made popular in a collection of essays by Washington Irving entitled The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, where he detailed the custom of the day was to remove one of the berries for each kiss you took under it until all the berries were depleted. Whatever the case may be, I’m sure that mistletoe will now never be the same for you. You’re welcome.
Well, why are we talking about mistletoe? It’s not just because it’s the Christmas season, but seeing it today and what it had done to the trees it leeched from reminded me of some strong warnings given to us from Scripture. You see, we want to assume that everyone who joins themselves to a church is a God fearing, people loving person with the best of intentions. But the reality of it all is that sometimes that’s not the case. Let’s look at a series of warnings given in Scripture, and then make some application to it. Let’s start with Paul’s warning to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:28-31, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Men will rise up even from your own number and distort the truth to lure the disciples into following them. Therefore be on the alert.” Next, consider the warning given from Paul to Timothy in third chapter of his second letter, “But know this: Hard times will come in the last days. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, demeaning, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people. For among them are those who worm their way into households and deceive gullible women overwhelmed by sins and led astray by a variety of passions, always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.” Finally, consider the warning Paul gives to Titus in chapter 1:10-11, “For there are many rebellious people, full of empty talk and deception, especially those from the circumcision party. It is necessary to silence them; they are ruining entire households by teaching what they shouldn’t in order to get money dishonestly.” These are some pretty serious warnings aren’t they? The shocking truth that we must realize is that sometimes others might have the appearance of being a godly person, in actuality they are a parasite. Shepherds of each church are called to be equipped and on the lookout for those who would want to cause division & disruptions within the church. Those who leach off of others for personal gain, or teach false things in order to bring a following after them. Sadly, there are some people that because of their ungodliness and unwillingness to follow Christ and love others can suck the life out of a church. That is why we must be on our guard against parasites. Now, don’t hear what I am not saying. Dealing with parasites in a church is not an occasion for acting with hatred, malice, or cruelty – regardless of what someone has done to other brothers or sisters in Christ in that church. Your response is your responsibility. We must respond boldly, confidently, and swiftly with all love and gentleness, but we must respond! If we do nothing, or delay in our action too long, then a little leaven will leaven the whole lump. I have seen whole churches destroyed because divisive, selfish individuals were not properly rebuked or disciplined. Here is the scariest part about it all…more often than not, those who are parasites are those whom you would never expect. As Paul warns, they have the appearance of godliness, and yet it is all a façade. They are people that you have come to love and trust over the years, which puts them in a perfect position to manipulate the unsuspecting. Sadly, I have seen those who I once respected do this very thing and destroy whole families as a result. Today I am merely calling us to be on our guard. Not everyone is as holly, jolly & innocent as we would assume or hope. Even within the church Satan does his best to disguise himself so he can destroy us from within. Above all, be on guard for your own heart. Don’t become a parasite, but in love truly serve one another as a disciple of Christ.
Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode. Tune in, Tuesday-Fridays, as a new podcast episode will be uploaded each day. Also, be sure to follow the Facebook page for the Set Your Mind Above podcast for future announcements and video sessions. As you have the opportunity, share these thoughts with your friends and family, and share with me what important lessons you are learning from every day, ordinary events. Until next time know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.