Now I'm sure I'm going to lose some readers over this post, but it must be discussed. Can I still love God and pledge a sorority and fraternity?
For those of you in college now, this may be a question you ask yourself everyday. It's hard not to want to join a sorority or a fraternity, the temptation is great. During my college days I remember seeing the beautiful jackets the women wore, and watching them joke around with each other like true sisters. Not to mention, the parties, the guys (or girls for the guys reading), the esteem you were given on campus, all under an umbrella of respect that went outside the perimeters of campus due to the community service and professional success members enjoyed. Earning greek letters has become a rite of passage in college, but how does God feel about this?
First things first. This post is pretty random, so I feel I must explain. This is a season of refinement. God is chipping off pieces that must go for what is to come. The more we are in-tune with Jesus Christ, the better off we will be.
When God put it in my heart to write about this subject, I asked Him, "Why now?"
God replied by saying, "Many of my people are seeking me, but their allegiance is elsewhere."
This leads me to the million-dollar question. Can a Christian pledge a fraternity or sorority?
The short answer to this question is no. Being a part of a sorority or fraternity requires giving your allegiance to an organization. It requires discipleship with someone other than Jesus Christ. Let's look at the reasons satan tries to pull us into these organizations.
Prestige
To the world, joining a sorority or fraternity is an honorable accomplishment. It means you had the grades, community service, personality and endurance needed to achieve all of the organization's requirements. On a college campus, a jacket with some greek letters is guaranteed to get you stares and attention at the student center. Think about what is this appealing to?
This is something everyone knows but no one wants to admit. People join these organizations for acceptance and admiration from your peers. Even if this wasn't your main reason for joining, it was still a reason at one point or another in your road that went from interest to a full-blown member. Satan uses organizations such as these to appeal to the flesh. Our flesh craves acceptance from others. Anyone who wants to get on their high horse and say differently, scroll down your Facebook timeline and count the selfies and statuses of friends boasting about themselves. Wanting acceptance doesn't make someone a monster. This is in no way a critique--but it is a warning.
The moment we decided to give our lives to Jesus Christ, we gave up the things of this world. We basically told Jesus that we want Him more than this world. That includes the admiration from this world. The Bible constantly reminds us that we are no longer a part of this world starting when we welcomed Jesus into our hearts. This means our cravings must change. We must long for the cravings of the Spirit rather than the cravings of this world. Seeking prestige is a craving of this world because it requires attention and admiration from the people of this world.
Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
The verse explains the separation in Christianity today. There are Christians who seek the desires of the flesh, and there are Christians seeking the desires of the Spirit--and both groups proclaim to love Jesus Christ. Indeed, both groups probably do love Jesus to an extent, but one group is more rooted than the other. Those who say they love Jesus but are intentionally or unintentionally chasing after the desires of the flesh will be a part of the falling away the Bible foretells:
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.
This leads me to the million-dollar question. Can a Christian pledge a fraternity or sorority?
The short answer to this question is no. Being a part of a sorority or fraternity requires giving your allegiance to an organization. It requires discipleship with someone other than Jesus Christ. Let's look at the reasons satan tries to pull us into these organizations.
Prestige
To the world, joining a sorority or fraternity is an honorable accomplishment. It means you had the grades, community service, personality and endurance needed to achieve all of the organization's requirements. On a college campus, a jacket with some greek letters is guaranteed to get you stares and attention at the student center. Think about what is this appealing to?
This is something everyone knows but no one wants to admit. People join these organizations for acceptance and admiration from your peers. Even if this wasn't your main reason for joining, it was still a reason at one point or another in your road that went from interest to a full-blown member. Satan uses organizations such as these to appeal to the flesh. Our flesh craves acceptance from others. Anyone who wants to get on their high horse and say differently, scroll down your Facebook timeline and count the selfies and statuses of friends boasting about themselves. Wanting acceptance doesn't make someone a monster. This is in no way a critique--but it is a warning.
The moment we decided to give our lives to Jesus Christ, we gave up the things of this world. We basically told Jesus that we want Him more than this world. That includes the admiration from this world. The Bible constantly reminds us that we are no longer a part of this world starting when we welcomed Jesus into our hearts. This means our cravings must change. We must long for the cravings of the Spirit rather than the cravings of this world. Seeking prestige is a craving of this world because it requires attention and admiration from the people of this world.
Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
The verse explains the separation in Christianity today. There are Christians who seek the desires of the flesh, and there are Christians seeking the desires of the Spirit--and both groups proclaim to love Jesus Christ. Indeed, both groups probably do love Jesus to an extent, but one group is more rooted than the other. Those who say they love Jesus but are intentionally or unintentionally chasing after the desires of the flesh will be a part of the falling away the Bible foretells:
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.
To chase after the Spirit means rejecting the world. Jesus had dominion over all through the Father, but He chose to be a homeless person who depended on the kindness of strangers from many standpoints. He served the people who came to Him. Jesus' disciples followed in this same pattern. I'm not saying abandon your homes and live as a homeless person, (unless God tells you to!) but we do need that mindset. Your home is your comfort place, and to leave your home and everything in it you must solely depend on God to take care of you. This is what we must do in the spirit. We must leave our comfort zones and deny all of our sources of comfort by declaring God and only God is our foundation.
However the Christian group seeking the desires of the flesh say they love Jesus Christ, but chase after the desires of the flesh. They want Jesus, but they link Jesus with worldly possessions and desires. They love Jesus because through Him they believe they can have these things. They say with their mouths they love Christ, but through their actions they sought after houses, honor, and other items of this world.
The bible tells us living for the Spirit conflicts with the flesh, so you can't do both.
Galatians 5:17-21 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:17-21 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
I urge you to go down the list of acts of sinful nature in the verse above, and see how many of these line up with the desires you may have to join a greek-lettered organization. Seek Jesus instead of admirers from the world.
John 15:18 If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. "If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.
This is the standard Jesus calls us to. If you are admired by the world, then something is wrong. As Christians we aim to be like Christ and He was hated by the world. The more we reflect Him the more the world will hate us. So a sorority and fraternity is a step in the wrong direction.
Connections
I can't tell you how many times I've heard greek organizations speak of the connections members receive out of college. I'm not doubting that's true. These organizations are willing to offer you a lifetime of networking and favor for joining. Satan offered Jesus the world if He neglected us and joined him. Just because perks are on the table doesn't mean the deal is good. Why do we need connections from people? Some would argue that's what networking is all about. I would agree with that statement, but I'm looking at the same solution from the other side of the fence. God offers connections and favor without the pledging and fees. All God asks for is just an ounce of faith. Jesus told us faith the size of a mustard seed does the trick.
Sometimes it's easier for us to turn to the world for solutions rather than believing in what we can't see which is a definition of faith. This is how satan tempts us into joining organizations such as these. We believe it's more credible than waiting for God to move on our behalf. Some of us turn to greek life to find comfort in the fact that we can see potential connections and we know someone will connect with us because of the sorority or fraternity. Don't settle for less! God's connections is far more greater. God created the person reading your resumé and graduate school application. Surely He is capable of swaying the very mind He created into choosing you.
Matthew 6:31:33 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Brotherhood/Sisterhood
John 13:35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
Therefore our love for one another is one of the ways we are defined as disciples of Christ. Being a Christian, our goal must be to love others as Jesus loved us. Jesus loves us so much that He saw our sin, loved us anyway, and laid down His life so we can be saved. This is an indiscriminate love. sororities and fraternities place a limit on love by drawing lines in the sand. Sure members love their families and things like that, but the organization calls for a family within a family. If you are a Christian in a sorority or fraternity, then you are expected to love your Christ family and also have a special love for your greek family. We all make up one body of Christ and there aren't any subgroups. When subgroups are formed, this causes division in the body of Christ. We all know these organizations doesn't necessarily have an "everyone welcomed" kind of set up. Jesus specifically prayed against this kind of division:
John 17:20-23 My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
The Holy Spirit was our gift to unify us. We don't need greek organizations for that purpose. Jesus said in His prayer we are to be unified, and by doing so we show the world His love. If we begin breaking off into different sectors and excluding others, that unity crumbles. For those in greek-lettered organizations who will try to convince me there aren't any divisions that occur due to these groups, think of this scenario:
I"m visiting your school. I walk up in the student union with your sorority t-shirt on, but I'm not a part of the sorority. At any school someone is bond to approach me about this. You decide that person might as well be you. So you walk up to me and ask me flat out if I'm your soror. I say no, but I'm your sister in Christ. How would you react?
Good Deeds
Deuteronomy 12:31 You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
By using greek organizations to serve God or do a good deed, you are actually displeasing Him because you are serving Him from a filthy platter.
What does all of this mean?
Don't let satan trick you into thinking these organizations are best for you. Obedience is key to blessings and a relationship with God. Don't welcome idols into your hearts by joining organizations requiring you to set the works of God aside or cause division in the body of Christ. God is all you need. You may not get the attention and prestige you can get from others by pledging, but stand firm for your reward is in Heaven. Connections are best made through the creator of every person on earth so there's no need to turn to others for that service. Through Christ you have a family commanded to love you as Jesus loves you. Most of all, you have Jesus Christ. Through Him you can do many good deeds and services for your community and for the world. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit you can command demons to leave and heal a person of their sicknesses! That sure tops some fundraisers and can drives done through greek organizations right?
Joining these organizations welcomes an idol into your heart. Many of these organizations are doorways to freemasonry and other secret societies. They involve rituals that are satanic in nature. For those involved in these organizations, Jesus loves you and He's fighting for your heart--all of it. He wants to do great things through you, but He needs your full allegiance. This is a warning from Christ. If this organization is too hard to let go, then you may want to consider, are you a Christian chasing after the Spirit or the desires of the flesh? If you are correctly chasing after the Spirit, then all the above reasons of why people join these orgs should seem pointless to you. In these last days our focus should be on allowing ourselves to be vessels for Jesus Christ. There's no room for other commitments outside of that purpose.
I get it, it can be hard to resist at times, especially when you're on a college campus. I once wanted membership in a sorority years before I was saved, and years after I was saved I was still fighting the urge to join. Remembering the reasons for joining are contrary to the Spirit helped me through. Reject the temptations of the enemy. Give your heart fully to Him. God will never leave you nor forsake you. In this season of refinement God is asking for all of you so He can transform you and bring about healing. Chase after the Holy Spirit as Jesus Christ works through you and prepares your home with Him in Heaven. People will almost always fail you at one point or another, but God will never disappoint you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment