In The Lord of the Rings, there’s a tragic character known as Gollum. Once a Hobbit, Gollum discovers the “One Ring” and becomes enslaved by his love for it, frequently refering to it as “my precious.” His outer body withers just as his inner self is consumed, and – like any addict – his entire existence alternates between his obsessive need for the ring and his desire to be free from it. In The Hobbit, (the “prequel” to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, if you haven’t read them) Gollum loses the ring and Bilbo finds it… and Gollum spends the rest of his tortured life trying to recover it at any cost.
What is “the ring” in your life? What agenda would you sacrifice relationships to accomplish?
It’s a tough question, if we’re honest, because we each have agendas, and they’re often very good things. So let me rephrase the question: what personal ministry goal would you sacrifice relationships in order to advance? What charitable cause would you work for even if it meant burning personal bridges? Maybe it’s getting out of debt and finally getting some financial breathing room, or advancing a career so you can better take care of your family. Maybe it’s a political cause, advancing an agenda that will protect the marginalized. Maybe it’s never being hurt or burned again. We all have agendas (despite the baggage that word often carries). Most of the time, they’re not inherently bad…and they mean a lot to us.
It’s these agendas that are at the heart of most church splits: people who care about something that is important to them – and usually something good – are willing to go to war to protect their agenda, to hold on to their “ring.” Maybe it was something like this that caused an internal fight between two women in Philippi. Paul mentions them in his letter to that church:
I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
– Phil 4:2-3
Maybe Euodia wanted to sing hymns and Syntyche was more into contemporary stuff. Maybe Syntyche preferred unflavored coffee, while Euodia wanted to put the flavored stuff in the big pot. Maybe Euodia thought missions was the sole reason the church exists, while Syntyche was more into discipleship. Whatever the reason for it, these two women were fighting, and it was affecting the unity of the church in Philippi.
James puts it in even more stark language:
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people!
– James 4:1-4
It’s hard to not get jealous when life seems so easy for others and while we struggle to get what we have. It’s hard to watch someone else advance their agenda when ours seems to be going nowhere. It’s even harder when their agenda’s progress means my agenda gets put on hold. How will you handle this struggle? For Pin Oaks specifically and for Christianity in general, a lot is riding on our answer. Will we set aside ‘mine’ in order to have unity among God’s people, Christ’s body?
The church that was born at Pentecost had a clear answer. They were unified, specifically because they each were willing to set aside their personal agendas for the benefit of the whole. The first church was characterized by love and humility. They accomplished great things by sacrifice, not by ambition. They willingly surrendered their “rings” so that others could advance…at their expense.
Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
– Acts 4:32-35
So back to the question earlier: what is your “ring?”
We all have agendas, and they mean a lot. My agenda is a good one, and it means a lot to me. You’re passionate about something else and maybe even put here by God “for such a time as this.” But our body – our local church – may never get the benefit of that if I try to defend my agenda at your expense. What if I win…only to rob the church of the work God is doing through you?
Pray for me, will you? Let’s pray that as a church, we’ll be able to put aside “mine” so that we might look a little more like that first church. Imagine the impact that would have on our community.
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