BY TOM KOHLS
RE WE READY TO VOTE? OR IS THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION?"
After three hours of sitting in the church business meeting
to decide the color of the carpet, the members are ready to go home, but not
ready to change their minds. Some want blue; some want red. The arguments on
this July evening have become as heated as the temperature at noon.
Because there is no air-conditioning, the windows of this older church are wide
open to let the heat out. The waving of hands to get the attention of the chair
creates a small breeze, and loud threats and accusations add to the overall
air movement. Now and then remarks are punctuated by the slap of a neck or an
arm.
Have the two sides come to blows? No . . . just swatting hungry
mosquitoes.
We are all familiar with those little pests. But before you
swat, do you ever stop to think of the commandment "Thou shalt not kill"?
It seems this was one of the controversies at the turn of the twentieth century
that believers were writing to Ellen White about.
"Letters have come to me," she wrote, "asking
in regard to the teaching of some who say that nothing that has life should
be killed, not even insects, however annoying or distressing they may be. .
. . God has told no one that it is a sin to kill the insects which destroy our
peace and rest."1
If there ever is an argument in Sabbath school about killing
mosquitoes, this statement should settle it. But are mosquitoes the only issue?
What about all the other issues that stir up controversy like a hornet's nest
in our churches?
Mrs. White continued: "There are those who are always
seeking to engage in controversy. This is the sum of their religion. They are
filled with a desire to produce something new and strange. They dwell upon matters
of the smallest consequence, exercising upon these their sharp controversial
talents.
"Idle tales are brought in as important truths, and by
some they are actually set up as tests. Thus controversy is created, and minds
are diverted from present truth. Satan knows that if he can get men and women
absorbed in trifling details, greater questions will be left unheeded. He will
furnish plenty of material for the attention of those who are willing to think
upon trifling, unimportant subjects."2
Whether it is the color of the carpet, the Sabbath school routine,
or fine points of theology, we all have been stung by those who poke their "sharp
controversial talents" like a mosquito's probiscus into the exposed body
of believers, making "matters of the smallest consequence," "trifling
details," and "side issues" a test.
Self-righteous Tangents
Maine is well known for its mosquito population. Other states and countries
may have their unique pests. In Maine we know mosquitoes from firsthand experience.
Likewise, there are many small controversies, not only in this conference and
union, that have divided a Sabbath school or church.
Think of the current crop of "hot potatoes" where
you are. Or such questions as "Which version of the Bible?" Some are
called "legalists," others "liberals," while another group
declares it represents "historic Adventists." Words such as "celebrate,"
"love," "obey," "law," "nature," or
"storehouse" really bother some people, buzzing around their ears
like a mosquito in the dark.
Such mental mosquitoes have been breeding since the founding
of the church. Here is a list of buzz subjects that Mrs. White warns us not
to enter into controversy over:
- The sanctuary question3
- The "daily" of Daniel 84
- Who is to compose the 144,0005
- The close of probation6
- The shaking7
- Time setting for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit or for the
coming of Christ8
There certainly has been plenty of material furnished over
the years on these subjects. But by whom? In many cases these discussions have
been very controversial and speculative, causing the church of God to become
divided and sidetracked. As we focus our attention on the little pests, "greater
questions will be left unheeded. . . ."9
If we stop what we are doing to swat every mosquito, we'll
never get the garden planted--or harvested either. The greater questions are
the "seed" truths of the Seventh-day Adventist Church: Our understanding
of God's law and His love; the teachings of Jesus, our Creator and Redeemer;
the Second Coming, the Sabbath, and the Three Angels' Messages; our belief in
prophetic guidance, and our emphasis on the fulfillment of Bible prophecy.
Our work is to warn the perishing world and to prepare a people
for the harvest by our soon-coming Savior. With our eye on the goal of finishing
God's work in this generation, we have no time to be swatting mosquitoes.
Ellen White wrote: "You have no time to engage in controversy
regarding the killing of insects. Jesus has not placed this burden upon you.
'What is the chaff to the wheat?' (Jer. 23:28). These side issues which arise
are as hay, wood, and stubble compared with the truth for these last days."10
By daily application of the oil of the Holy Spirit, the truth
will act as insect repellent to our minds and keep us from being distracted
by annoying controversies. The Holy Spirit will lead us to prayer and repentance,
to search the Scriptures for truth that unites. In these last days we should
heed the greater question: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"11
As trials and conflicts swarm around us, and the enemy of the
soul buzzes in our ear, let us boldly declare: "Where is thy sting?"
(1 Cor. 15:55). Don't be bothered by the mosquitoes; get ready to meet Jesus,
and encourage others to join you.
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1 Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1, p. 170.
2 Ibid., pp. 170, 171.
3 Ibid., footnote, p. 160.
4 Ibid., p. 167.
5 Ibid., p. 174.
6 Ibid., p. 179.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid., p. 188.
9 Ibid., p. 170.
10 Ibid., p. 171.
11 Ibid., p. 175; Luke 10:25.
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At the time of writing, Tom Kohls was a board member and personal ministries
leader of the Seventh-day Adventist church in Bath, Maine.
