Christian cannibals?

Cannibalism – the very idea is disgusting and gives us the creeps! But closet cannibals are everywhere!

You may be surprised to discover that some of your best friends and acquaintances are guilty of this grotesque charge. You’ve probably also practiced cannibalism, more often than you’d like to admit.

The apostle Paul warned about Christian cannibalism: “But if you bite and devour one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another” (Galatians 5:15). Are you still managing any disagreements? Is an interpersonal problem “eating you alive”? Are you “sick” of being misunderstood? Have you ever been scolded? Or maybe you wanted to “chew it up and spit it out”? What about “cutting remarks”? Wouldn’t you like to rip certain people apart and give them a “part of your mind”? Don’t they deserve to be “cut to size?” Who has not made sarcastic remarks (Greek – sarkazein, to tear meat)? We’ve all been “in hot water!” I think you get the point.

As members of the Royal Family of God, Divine Beings in the making, there is no time to waste arguing with each other. We should not get involved in destructive family fights or sibling rivalry. Do not torment the Body of Christ! Mental cruelty has got to go! No matter how serious or justified our reasons for disagreeing with someone may be, they pale in comparison to our crucifixion of Christ, who commands us, through Paul, to be one: “Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and Beloved, put on tender mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; just as Christ forgave you, so you SHOULD do” (Colossians 3:12-13).

The next time you are “looking for blood” because you are angry and upset, you would do well to remember that the only “flesh and blood” offered to us, during our course of conversion, is that of Jesus Christ! He grossed out quite a few of his followers when he shared that information with them. They couldn’t stand it. Jesus’ claim to be the Bread of Life, the Manna from Heaven, was a bit hard to swallow. But he meant that we should delight in his life-giving words. The scriptures are to sustain us, daily, in this wilderness adventure (John 6:41-69).

You are what you eat. We must be more godly, more Christ-like, and less contentious: “careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace…until we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to one perfect (mature) man, (from the measure of) the stature of the fullness of Christ…” (Ephesians 4:2,3,13).

“If anyone among you thinks himself religious, and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, his religion is vain” (James 1:26). James 3 goes on to warn about how we should control the tongue instead of being controlled by it.

We must stop picking on each other, unite as Christian brothers, and resist Satan’s attempts to separate us. It’s the old divide and rule plot. He reveals himself as the one who awakens this ungodly appetite: “Be sober and vigilant, because your adversary the devil (not the brothers) prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

Instead of falling prey to our enemy, going to the throat of others, let us make sure that we consume our zeal for the Work of God (John 2:17).

There is some kosher food for thought!