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From A Slice of Infinity:

The Church of Negativity
Jill Carattini

It was a worship service gone awry. We had gathered to celebrate the
person of Christ, but in the end it seemed we were more celebrating words
void of life. I cannot recall the name of the church, the denomination it
was a part of, or even what the sermon was about. I only remember the
rabbit trail that led us down a darkened hole of condemnation. From body
piercings and baggy pants to homosexuals and liberals, the list was long,
the frustration clear, and the rationale was fired with as much passion as
the targets that had been chosen: “For we recognize that hell is a fearful
reality, and that many--maybe even those near to you--will find it their
final place of unrest.”

“Amen!” the person in front of me called out. “Yes, amen,” said several
others in agreement.

My heart sunk further into my soul than I knew was even possible. Did
they know that “Amen!” means “Let it be”?

A great deal of time has passed since this experience, and yet,
remembering it still brings shivers down my spine and a bad taste to my
mouth. But what I once remembered only as a particular worship service in
a particular city on a particular Sunday afternoon, I now remember as an
illustration of the worship service I am all too capable of leading. When
I allow myself to cling more to negativity than to Christ, when I cherish
words of death more than words of life, when I spend more time complaining
about what is wrong with the church than putting energy into being
the church, this is exactly the worship experience I recreate--and there
are far too many voices willing to shout “amen” at the end of each of my
sermons. Christianity in many circles has become synonymous with
negativity.

In his sermon "The Weight of Glory," C.S. Lewis took note of a subtle
shift in the language of his day, which he felt was the first detour in a
road leading far away from Christ. Writes Lewis, "If you asked twenty
good men today what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of
them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you had asked almost any of the
great Christians of old, he would have replied, Love. You see what has
happened? A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this
is of more than philosophical importance."(1) He goes on to explain the
ideologies that grow out of subtle shifts of language. The positive
answer requires a perspective that looks outward at others--those who are
the recipients of the virtue or else the one from whom this virtue arises
in the first place--whereas the negative virtue shows that our concern is
primarily with ourselves--our own self-denial--and hence the
appearance of good virtue. To this Lewis notes, "The New Testament
has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in
itself." To put this in terms for the subject at hand: Scripture has lots
to say about what is wrong with the world. But thankfully, this is never
the end of the sermon. (And of course, both the Old and New Testaments
have a lot to say about complaining.)

It is very true that we live in a world that is full of philosophical
pitfalls, bad behavior, and theology with which we could rightfully see
fault. But so it is full of the glory of God. So why are we at times
more excited to see fault than to see faith? Why are we so quick to
complain and so lamentably slow at showing the world our reason to be more
fully alive and authentically graceful? The same scripture that tells us
to defend our faith tells us to do so with gentleness and reverence--so
that those who abuse you for “your good conduct in Christ” may be
put to shame (1 Peter 3:15-16). The same scripture that bids us to do all
things “without complaining and arguing” instructs us to do so because it
is by our “holding fast to the word of life” that we demonstrate we
are truly holding onto a different message than that of a crooked and
perverse generation (Philippians 2:14-16). Moreover, the same apostle who
died to defend the person of Christ called us to stay focused on the
kind of person Christ is: “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom
we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not ‘Yes and No’;
but in him it is always ‘Yes.’ For in him every one of God’s promises is a
‘Yes.’ For this reason it is through him that we say the ‘Amen,’ to the
glory of God” (2 Corinthians 1:19-20).

In the worship services we create with our words and actions, with the
things we do and the things we leave undone, might there be good reason
for those around us to say “Amen.”

This really spoke to me because I look around and see so much negativity in the body of Christ. There are far too many people in the body who consider themselves to be the "defenders" of the faith. They make it their business to point out all the "bad" theology of others. They say they are the "watchdogs" of the faith. I don't have a problem with someone warning me that a person's theology might be wrong, but it seems like these folks don't just do that. They go far beyond warning to cutting people down and getting into huge critical arguments with folks they deem to be "heretics". I guess my question is, who is it that made them the "watchdog"? If God is sovereign, does He really even need them to be "watchdogs". I, for one, find the ONLY watchdog I need is the Holy Spirit. He is the one who gives me discernment to know truth from lie. I don't need a man to tell me what is true or false. I have the word of God and I have His Holy Spirit. I also have faith that the Lord will be the judge of all those people who tried to deceive us into false thinking. I also know that I am the only person who has to be accountable for my actions. You don't have to be accountable for my actions. I think life would be so much better if we worried about our own actions and were accountable to God everyday for how we are serving Him, than worrying about what everybody else is doing. The only thing that matters is my relationship with the Lord, serving Him, praying for the deceived to receive their sight, speaking the truth in love that Jesus Christ is Lord. He died to save us from our sins. He rose again to sit at the right hand of the Father. He said to go and make disciples. He did not say, go and tear each other down.