COLOSSIANS 2:18-19
LISTEN TO THE HEAD
Colossians 2:18-19 (Amplified Version) Let no one defraud you by acting as an umpire and declaring you unworthy and disqualifying you for the prize, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions [he claims] he has seen, vainly puffed up by his sensuous notions and inflated by his unspiritual thoughts and fleshly conceit, and not holding fast to the Head, from Whom the entire body, supplied and knit together by means of its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
Beware of following someone who special insight claims,
Who pressures you into certain deeds, or says you’re unworthy of Jesus’ name.
Test everything against God’s word and hold tight to the Lordship of Jesus.
For Christ is our only supreme Head, and His leadership always frees us.
When I (Susie) was in college, I unwittingly visited the meeting of a cult. I picked up a seemingly Christian pamphlet during a new student orientation. A nice young man noticed this and invited me to a meeting saying I could meet Christian friends. It was to be a potluck supper. The supper time was fine. Everyone was nice but seemed ultra-conservative. Keep in mind that observation is being made by someone who has been called “the Baptist nun”. When the meeting started, people sat in chairs in concentric circles. The men were in the middle and the women on the outside. The leader invited comments during his talk, but after a few moments of discussion, I realized I was the only female speaking; and people were giving me polite smiles. I began to feel uncertain about them even though nothing overtly anti-Christian had been said or done. The leader was dynamic, but the others seemed docile. God placed a Christian brother in my path at church the next Sunday who had researched this particular group. He had found that they had a dictatorial international leader that insisted they give up property, fast at certain times, and do whatever he deemed right including estranging themselves from their families. I was not as strong in God’s word or my relationship with Jesus at that time as I am now, so I am thankful God guided me to the friend who pointed me back to Jesus as the only Head of the body.
God has at times asked me to give up things or habits, but that has always been a nudging from within through His Holy Spirit and His word. I understand that I am not to impose on others what is right for me because the Lord deals with us on an individual basis. No one is to judge me, and I am not to judge others. We are to judge ourselves according to the truth of God’s word. Our leadership should be gentle servant leaders. No Christian leader should be a dictator. Nor should we be non-thinking, passive individuals who allow ourselves to be swept in a direction contrary to Christ’s leadership. Growth comes as we know Christ more intimately and seek to find and follow His will.
Father, help us to respect the people You have placed in authority, pray for them, and encourage them. However, help us to be responsible followers of Christ and recognize Him as the true head of the church. Help us to internalize Your word and listen to the Holy Spirit to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.