The human side of godliness
god·ly
adjective
devoutly religious; pious.
synonyms:
religious, devout, pious, reverent, faithful, devoted, committed, believing, God-fearing, dutiful, saintly, holy, prayerful, churchgoing, practicing
I have been an avid viewer of the TV series Greenleaf, which features the fictitious Greenleaf family and their incredible Memphis megachurch, Calvary. The escapades of Bishop James Greenleaf, First Lady Mae, and the rest of the family have drawn gasps of disbelief from me episode after episode (it’s on Netflix by the way). Infidelity, tax evasion, murder, suicide- this series depicts how the Greenleaf family and their church have been embroiled in and survived a myriad of situations. Nevertheless, the striking thing about the show (in my opinion) is the way the family; Bishop in particular, navigate these issues with a mixture of piousness and plain humanness. I have pondered whether such far-fetched events can happen amongst the congregation in a real-life church, let alone the clergy and their families.
In the letter of St Paul to Timothy, the expectations from a church leader are clearly stated: “…the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled…not a lover of money (1 Tim. 3:2-4 NIV).” If Bishop Greenleaf is assessed based on St Paul’s criteria, his score would at least be zero if not below! However, if I and other like-minded Greenleaf viewers pause our sanctimonious thoughts and recall biblical leaders such as King David and Moses who, though fallible, earnestly sought God, we’ll think again. “Does one attain godliness by being sinless or by doing good works?” “How can an ungodly person lead God’s church?” “As the heavenly scorekeeper, how does God rate Bishop? How does He rate us?”
No matter our status on the Christianity rollercoaster- driver, frequent rider or veteran; we are all called to be committed and steadfast. As God knows us completely, warts and all- our focus should be on: 1. Constant renewal: “…ridding ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and the sin that holds unto us so tightly (Heb. 12:1 GNB) and 2. Completing the race of our faith: “…. (pressing) on forward towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14 NIV).” Our quest for holiness and godliness shouldn’t be devoid of awareness of our humanity and imperfections lest we become like Pharisees, puffed-up and self-righteous. Instead we should embrace the simple attributes of humanity: compassion, patience, humility, kindness, patience and self-control. Conscious of our infinite shortcomings and declare like St Paul: “… Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners- of whom I am the worst,’’ (1 Tim. 1:15 NIV).
Now what’s Charity Greenleaf up to this time? Stay blessed and human!
Isobel