What Does it Mean to be a Citizen of God’s Kingdom? Faith, God's Kingdom, Inspiration, Live for a Bigger Cause, Faith Books

They Avoid the Dangers of Individualism

“I would argue that individualism is the greatest barrier to Jesus-centered community. This world does not operate according to clans and tribes, but according to the individual. The individual self reigns supreme, and life is all about effectively becoming your own god.

This is the natural response of selfish fallen creatures. Seclude yourself in a small world that you control. Bernard Shaw’s definition of hell was: ‘… where you must do what you want to do.’ Effectively, in this type of world where the sovereign self reigns supreme, you become your own tyrant… and tyrants don’t have friends. Tyrants don’t have a community because no one is their equal.”

They Recognize the Deceptive Nature of Competition

Peabody admits in Citizen that competition even crept into his work as a pastor. “This drive, this will to outdo others, came with me into the pastorate. It was always in the guise of ‘do all things as if you are working for the Lord.’ So whatever I was doing, I would give it my all, give it my best, with what I thought was a healthy motivation, but in hindsight it was many times done in an effort to outshine somebody else. That’s the thing about competitiveness: it is typically not directed inward but outward, in an effort to outdo others. What I came to realize is that with my covert competitive spirit within the church, I was killing unity. Competition is the arch rival of unity and has no business among siblings called to love and build up one another.”