WHAT IF I STUMBLE?

 

So, I'm sitting out on my porch working on a project and I decide to listen to some "old school" Christian music I used to listen to when I was in my mid-late twenties.  One of the songs that popped up was a popular song by DC Talk called "What If I Stumble".  The song is from the singers' perspective asking what their motivation is for what they were doing.  Were they singing because they wanted the money, or were they truly out to spread the message?  And what would happen if they messed up and their lives didn't line up with the message they were singing about?

Here are the lyrics to the chorus:

"What if I stumble?  What if I fall?
What if I lose my step, and I make fools of us all?
Will the love continue when my walk becomes a crawl?
What if I stumble and what if I fall?"

In light of the serious accusations coming out against Michael Tait from DC Talk, I questioned whether or not I wanted to continue to listen to their music.  It got me to thinking, what was going through his mind whenever he sang those lyrics, night after night, knowing what he was taking part in?  But I realized what they were singing was still true in spite of what was going on in his life.  His actions didn't make what they sang about any less true.  It just meant he didn't take the message seriously.

I know a lot of people put Christian "celebrities" up on a pedestal only to become disappointed when they find out they're just as human as they are.  There are probably those who walk away from the faith because of the sins and moral failures of their favorite musicians/singers/pastors/teachers, and that isn't the direction to take.  But it's all an excuse.  They were putting their faith in THEM and not in Christ.

The gospel of Jesus Christ isn't valid because of how we live our lives.  It's valid because it's true in spite of how we live.  Putting our "faith" in humans instead of Jesus is just a form of idolatry.  We can say all day long that we believe in Jesus, but if our faith is damaged by the actions of those we put on the pedestal, then we've just shown that Jesus wasn't central to our faith, but in those whom we put on that pedestal we've erected.

One of my favorite pastors, Steve Lawson, was called out last year for his relationship with someone who could've been his daughter.  This caused him to be stripped of his ministry, separated from his family, and basically relegated to a "regular" job.  Even though I enjoyed his sermons, I didn't idolize him because ANYONE can sin and fall HARD!!  It's like a gut-punch when something like this happens to those we have grown to love and appreciate.  It's quite a huge disappointment, but you also have to remind yourself that no one is immune from failure.

Back to the song I referenced above, it's still a true message.  Our failures don't negate the message of the gospel.  It's not Jesus who failed, but we did.  We let our pride tell us that "no one will find out," or "it's just this one time," which then turns into a pattern of failures if we don't get on our knees and seriously repent for our sins.

If you are one of those who uses the moral failures of professing Christians as an excuse to reject the gospel, your excuse won't hold water.  The gospel is truth in spite of the failures of those whose lives don't live up that truth.  If you measure the truth of the gospel according to the lives of those who claim to be Christians and fail at any point, your trust isn't in Christ.  You won't be able to use any Christian's moral failures as a reason that you never believed the gospel.  Your refusal to believe will be yours and only yours to own up to.

As Christians, we need to be mindful EVERY DAY of what it is we profess.  God knows our weaknesses, and He's always ready to forgive us when we fail to live up to what we believe.  It's true our moral failures and sins do not make the gospel less true, but God will still hold us accountable for how we handled His truth and how we represented Christ to the lost.