My Pastor Says…

Here’s one of my pet peeves: I see someone doing something, and I ask them why they are doing it, and they say, “I don’t know, just because.” That bugs me! Just because? What do you mean, just because? If you ask me why I do what I do, I’m going to give you a reason. I don’t do things without having a reason.

I see variations of this when I’m talking to other believers. We might be sharing what we believe, and I’ll ask, “Why do you believe that?” It bothers me when they answer, “Well, my pastor says…”

That’s your answer? You believe something just because your pastor says it? That doesn’t make sense to me. You have to know what you believe, and why you believe it. What have you heard? What have you asked God? The Bible says to make sure you have an answer for each question, when asked about your faith. I don’t think it was referring to, “Well, my pastor says…”

Now, your pastor may be right. I hope so! Our pastors are our shepherds. They’re doing their best. They’re asking God for wisdom. But I’m going to tell you what. When you look back through the course of church history, you will see that all those people, supposedly wise in God, have messed it up.

So I say, be careful believing things just because someone else does. You should talk to God yourself. Ask God what you should think. If you’ve heard an answer from someone else, ask God if that answer is the right answer.

Or do you prefer to just show up on Sunday, sit in your seat, and let someone else tell you how to believe? Do you go to church on Sunday, get told what to do, and then just go home and do it? Because if that’s how you do things, then your answer for everything will be, “My pastor says…”

Believers are supposed to carry the image of the Almighty God, and when He was here with us, He walked the streets. Jesus went out and talked to people. Jesus helped people. Jesus taught people. That’s what it’s like to bear His image. You need to be walking the streets, hanging out with people, and sharing your wisdom and insight with them. What’s going to happen when they ask you a question and you say, “Well, my pastor says…”?

I don’t really think that’s going to go very far. I don’t think that you’re going to look very intelligent. You’re going to tell them what your pastor says, and they’re going to look at you and say, “But what do you think?” And you won’t know! When that happens, they’re not going to want to talk with you. They’re going to move on to the next thing.

You need to talk to God. There are a lot of people out there that can tell you why they believe what they believe. And they will make you doubt, if you do not know what you believe, or why you believe it. They will make you doubt, if your only answer is, “Because my pastor said it.” They will make you doubt, if you’ve never done your own research, or never done your own thinking, or never prayed and asked God to give you wisdom.

Believers have the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. We have the same Spirit that came upon Jesus and allowed Him to start doing miracles, signs and wonders. That Spirit lives inside of you. That’s Lady Wisdom living inside of you. Show it!

See you Saturday.