Acts 11:1-4, 15-18, Galatians 2:11-14

Once upon a time, in a church far, far away there was a kitchen committee. The power and duties of the kitchen committee were taken very seriously by each member, and the committee made it known they weren’t keen on taking outside direction. It was rarely given, because to cross the kitchen committee meant certain social death…and everyone in the church knew it.

The committee was allowed to operate largely unchecked for quite some time, until a newly hired church custodian noticed the big freezer needed to be cleaned out and defrosted. There was concern for the quality of the food that was being served to the church family before Wednesday evening servcies, as well as the efficiency of space being used. A more senior member of the staff agreed, and the brave souls brought their simple suggestion before the kitchen committee: take inventory of the contents of the freezer at your earliest convenience. 

Cue the certain social death march. ::dun dun dun::

Word spread fast. There was an immediate smear campaign against the bringers of the suggestion, and it went so far as to call for their termination as church staff. Meetings were held where there were all manner of ugly words and behavior, and it was allowed to drag on for weeks. 

In the meantime, relationships were damaged, division within the church grew, and the state of the freezer remained unchanged until someone became severely ill after partaking in one of the Wednesday evening meals.

Just kidding! The state of the freezer remained unchanged even after the illness was made known, because so many in church leadership were more concerned with remaining on the good side of the kitchen committee than standing up for what needed to be done.

This is a true story, and I wish it had more of a happy ending. What of the two brave souls? Neither were terminated, but one did choose to leave their position shortly after the social death began. The other stuck it out a little longer but ultimately chose to work elsewhere, too, as the poisonous people pleasing environment persisted.

People pleasing feels an awful lot like peace in the moment, but it never ends peacefully. It ends in division and poisoning–of relationships and occasionally digestive systems! Peter learned this the hard way, and unfortunately so do we sometimes. The lie that we are only valuable if certain people like us is a poisonous one that keeps us from Building a Resilient Core individually and collectively. 

Are there areas in your life where you’re keeping the peace to avoid a confrontation? Ask God to show you where you can speak up for the Truth and the courage to follow through!