Its All About The Word

In my former church, we were always told, "It's all about the word", meaning it was all about the Word of God. We were taught that...

-we were not supposed to listen to peoples problems.... when they began talking about them we were to just "tell them the word"

-attacks came against the church because that church was the only church that preached the word the right way and the devil was trying to destroy it

-we were to speak the word all the time and not give voice to illnesses, situations, or anything that did not line up with the word

-the preaching of the word, the way the pastor interpreted it was more important than anything.. even people

In reading the gospels, and looking at the ministry of Jesus, it is obvious that the most important thing to Him was people. The Bible says that Jesus was the Word of God in the flesh. Yet, He did not teach and preach that He was the most important thing. He was not here to promote Himself, He promoted doing the will of the Father and loving PEOPLE.

Yes the word is important. It is alive and powerful. It is the good news to all men. It is the answer to every problem. It is the standard we live by. It is truth. But the most important thing to God is people.

Jesus spent His life here on earth serving people, healing them, showing them love, helping them, putting them first until He made the choice to die for them. Yet we have pastors now that won't give the people in their congregation the time of day. Won't attend their funerals. Have no interest in helping them with their problems, answering their questions, or listening to them when they need someone to talk to. Need to see their tithing record before deciding whether to attend something they have received an invitation to.

Preachers today need to wake up. It is not all about the preaching of the word with whatever twist or "new revelation" they want to push! It is about taking the gospel of Jesus to a lost and hurting world. Feeding the hungry, giving to the poor, ministering to the needy and the hurting, and genuinely loving people.Its about using the word to do this, not using it to get what they want. It is about using the word to teach others how to live, how to love,how to serve and how to live holy lives. It is not there for people in the ministry to use it to excuse whatever sins they choose to engage in and then keep them in ministry positions no matter how atrocious their lifestyles are.

In careful consideration I have comet to the conclusion that it is not ALL about the Word, it is ALL about people.