submission

April 28, 2006

on tuesday, i headed to the pool right before lunchtime. i like swimming at that time because a lot of random people come, mostly kids and parents. as i've said before, i love observing the interaction between kids and parents. the only downside with the time is the busyness of the pool. sometimes it can get really crowded. tuesday was one of those days. in fact, i've never seen the pool so busy.

initially, there were three people in the pool. two were swimming in the assigned lanes and i was swimming in the open area (the open area consists of three unassigned lanes). i will always swim alongside the pool wall if it's free (and it was free). then, two ladies entered the open area. instead of occupying the two free lanes, they decide to occupy the one closest to the wall (the one i was in) and the one in the middle. i figured they would move out of the way as i swam towards them, since i was there first. i thought wrong. i had to move to avoid the two women. instead of making a big fuss out of it, i decided to swim in the third lane, closest to the two assigned lanes. it was fine for a while, until another man entered the open area. he decided that he liked the lane i was swimming in and occupied it. i got pushed out again. instead of making a big fuss out of it, i figure i could "create" a hybrid fourth lane since the two ladies weren't really swimming. enter another lady. now there were five people in the open area. it was getting really crowded.

the two ladies didn't really stay in the two lanes. they'd move about the pool, causing me and the other lady to swim around them. it was quite a nuisance. at one point, there were taking so much space, i was swimming directly behind the man, trying to keep a good distance so i wouldn't get kicked in the face. i figured when he turned around, he would swim to avoid me. not a chance. it was like a game of chicken, except we were swimming. i was the one who had to swerve to avoid or else a collision would have occurred.

i found it interesting that of the five people in the people, only two people were willing to accommodate for the others (me and the lady). the other three kept on doing whatever they were doing, not ever considering the others around them. plus the fact that they kicked me out of my swimming spots!

the pool situation reminded me of submission and the church. there are people in our churches like the man and two ladies. these people have no concept of submission. they do not listen to anyone except for themselves. they do what they please and ignore others. they are self-serving, self-seeking. they do only what interests them. but there are also people in the church like the woman and me (though i cannot say i am always like this. and to be perfectly honest, it probably is not me most of the time). we understand that we need to work with other people. we realize that we need to be open-minded and listen to other opinions and perspectives. we realize that sometimes we need to submit our own desires and will in order to make things work with others.

i wonder. how often do we make a big deal in church about things that simply are about us. we raise controversy over something because we don't like it or because it's not done in the way we want. we make church about our own needs and wants rather than making it about others. we don't stop to think how our actions may influence other people. case in point. during our morning worship times, we do not have any lights on in the gym. the rationale behind this is that it helps create a more freeing atmosphere for congregants. when the lights are off, people are less self-conscious about themselves. this allows them to engage God more freely, by raising their hands, clapping, sitting, standing, kneeling and/or dancing. having the lights on full creates more self-awareness and more self-identification. not only are you aware of your self, but so are others. at one of our sunday school meetings, we were informed that we were getting complaints about the lights being too dim. parents were complaining that their kids were falling asleep because of the lights. they wanted the lights to be brighter. as i listened to this, i wondered about their request. maybe their kids were falling asleep for another reason. maybe they simply didn't care or they liked to stay up late saturday nights playing games. i said we could try it and see if there was a difference. but i also suggested that we also note the response of the rest of the people. would other people be affected by the change in lighting? would other people become more self-conscious in worship and less free to engage in God when the lights were back on?

the church is full of complainers. i used to be one of them (i believe that i've progressed from this, but i'm not perfect). i was notorious for complaining. i complained about everything and anything. i wanted things to be done my way, to suit my personal tastes and preferences. the problem with complainers is this: they complain often and they complain loudly. complainers do not go away. they want to see change happen in their favour. as time passes, people may start to listen. leaders need to rise up against this. we're far too accommodating, far too nice sometimes to these people because we don't want to offend them or make them upset.

we need to remind ourselves about submission. we need to remind ourselves that church is not about meeting our personal tastes and preferences. sometimes we are so caught up with our own selves that we are unwilling to see the good that can come if we submitted our preferences. what if those things we did not like were in fact benefiting the church and because of our complaining, they ceased to exist? what a grave disservice we would do to the body of Christ. Christ's death on the cross was the ultimate act of submission. in the garden of gesthemane, we see His desperate pleas to the Father to remove the bitter cup. yet, He was still able to say "not my will, but Yours." He sets the example by which we ought to live.

the church is not about pushing our own agendas and preferences. it is about coming together, as the body of Christ, to further the kingdom of God. this can only happen when we learn to work together, to submit to one another out of love and respect.

Posted by Leo Chan at April 28, 2006 6:55 PM