Are You a Paper Plate Christian?

Did you know you were made to be... useful?

Many who call themselves Christians live their lives as though they were a paper plate. Paper plates are not re-useable. They cannot be cleaned, since they would become soggy and disintegrate. They are used once and thrown in the trash. They're cheap and hold no value.

Perhaps you felt like God used you once. Maybe you were young and had yet to make any "major" mistakes. Maybe you had a moment and were zealous for God. But now, here you are, pretending to be a paper plate. You think that you're too dirty, and that one day when you're clean enough, you can be used again. But when God goes to work on you, you react like a cheap paper plate under hot, soapy water and fall to a soggy mess, refusing to be of use.

Or, perhaps, you're on the other end of the spectrum, a piece of fine china.

Fine china is set high up in a cabinet or on the wall, somewhere safe where it can be displayed. Strangely enough, though it is beautiful and expensive, it usually remains on display and never serves the purpose a plate should. It surely cost money, and it looks nice, but it isn't really useful.

Some Christians are like the fine china, so prideful that they'll only be used on the most special and honorable occasions to put on a show. They cannot get dirty. They believe that their spiritual gift and their very existence is God's special present to humanity. Fine china Christians wouldn't dare be seen working or serving, as it is below them. They are stuck up high on display.

As you might have imagined, neither of these "plates" are what you are meant to be.

We are all made of the same clay pot. We're neither below or above one another. Shame and pride will both stop you from standing up and doing what God has asked you to do. He hasn't asked you to be a piece of trash, for what's the use in that? Neither has He asked you to be a special, untouched object sitting on a shelf, as that has no use to it, either. Kingdom work takes work. That means you have to do something. God washes us and makes us clean and whole so we can be used again. God desires to use you daily.

Don't reject the blood of Jesus and forgiveness in favor of playing the paper plate. Don't take pride in your "holiness" in favor of becoming a the useless plate. Get before God in repentance, be made clean and filled up with His Holy Spirit, and bear the fruit of Chrestotes, (translated as kindness or gentleness in most versions of the Bible) but means "being fit for use."

*This post was inspired by a message from a series on the fruit of the Spirit preached by Prophet John Holler. If you'd like to get the message on Chrestotes, use our contact form and we'll send you more information.