I began to ponder this today, when is it not ok to preach about a sin? If the sin is prevalent in the church you attend, then is it not ok to talk about it? What if there were two people in the church that had this issue and everyone knew it, then you can't preach about it? Maybe, there are five or six people that commit this sin and it's obvious to everyone, then you shouldn't talk about it right? I guess I seem a little confused here. It seems as though people start to get their feelings hurt when the preacher hits on "their" sin. I hear so often that people are wanting the pastor to preach from the Bible or use more scripture, however I have noticed that only applies, well when it doesn't apply to them.
Most people can get behind the preacher when he waxes eloquent on sin in general. You might hear a lot of Amen and see a few nods. I have noticed it get's uncomfortably quiet when he begins to name them and they aren't the "biggies". Pride, amen! Adultery, amen! Gluttony......**crickets**. Well actually y'all that is one of the biggies, it's one of the seven. Oh, but that's the one that everyone can see, you can't actually hide it. Too much of anything over and over shows. Food, clothes, toys, it's hard to hide it all. Self-control is a fruit of the spirit, in case you were wondering. Your body really is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Slow suicide, it still murder of self.
Someone told me recently that some people had left a church because the pastor offended them when he spoke about eating right and treating their body like a temple of the Lord, etc... Were they embarrassed? Probably. Offended, maybe. More likely, convicted, and they didn't like it. I have squirmed myself a time or two when these things were spoken about, but I know it was because I was under conviction.
Yes, I guess I am confused a bit. I suppose when 1/3 of adult Americans actively engage in a sin then it is no longer OK to preach against it. (that's the rate of obesity in America) Of course, the estimated rate of infidelity in the U.S is around %30, so maybe we shouldn't mention that in the pulpit either? Apparently the real issue is that gluttony/obesity is all too obvious and difficult to hide. Should we mention it when it's obvious to everyone within eye sight that we struggle with this sin? Yes, we should. For the very reason that 1/3 of adults are slowly dying of their sin. Obesity kills. How can we ignore it?
