Awhile back I wrote a post called “What Flavor is your Kool-Aid”. This post discussed Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple. As a part of this post I pointed out that while some of the people who followed Jones were off kilter most of them were caught up in the idea or vision of the ministry.
That whole post took on a new a life of its own in my day to day living. My friends and family now frequently remind each other not to drink the Kool-Aid. As funny as this may sound I believe in my heart it is important to be able to separate the word of God and his purpose for our lives from the word of man and his goals and objectives for the church.
For that purpose I am going to explain what you should look out for.
In the movie Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad, tells Bro. Malcolm that he is to become the national minister. He illustrates Malcolm’s task by taking a glass of water and defiling it with black ink. He explains that if this is the only thing offered people will drink it (if they are thirsty), but when given the choice between that glass and a glass of pure water they will always choose the pure. While I am not a Muslim — I agree with this universal truth.
The problem is how do you recognize when the water you are being given is not pure – especially if you only offered one glass? This has been the challenge for me since returning to the organized church experience.
I have found that when the pastor or leaders require blind submission and obedience you have just been offered a glass of Grape Kool-Aid. Why grape you may ask; because anyone who has ever made Kool-Aid knows that when you mix it the grape is almost black.
If you hold the pitcher up to the light you cannot see through it. If you taste it there is nothing natural about the flavor. It tastes contrived and chemical. If you are anything like me it does not sit well on your stomach. The grape Kool-Aid can kill your spirit and in the case of the People’s Temple it could flat out kill you.
Let me say that while I believe once you mature to the place where you understand it is biblical to submit to pastoral authority — it is also biblical it know God and understand the word for yourself so you are not led astray by corrupt authority.
Hebrews 13:17 states that we should submit to pastoral authority and we should do so in a way that does not put undue stress on the pastor because he is responsible to the lord for how we are taught.This does not make the pastor’s or “leaderships” authority limitless or infallible.
We have a duty to know God for ourselves and we have to be able to hear him speak in our lives. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 speaks to this in saying that while you should respect the work of the leadership for the sake of the very work they do you should also study or test everything and hold fast only to that which is good. This means that if it is in conflict with the word of God then for your own soul’s sake you must question it and/or disregard it. Do not drink the Kool-Aid.
Proverbs 14:15-18 reminds us that only a simpleton believes everything he/she hears while a prudent person thinks before he/she moves and seeks knowledge when unsure.
While grape is the most dangerous of the flavors it is not alone. Those of us raised in the black community know a lot about Red Kool-Aid. Yes, red is a flavor. It is the mystery meat of Kool-Aid. You can never be sure what you are getting. It could be strawberry, berry, cherry, fruit punch or any mixture of the above.
While Red Kool-Aid will not necessarily kill you it can cause long term health effects. Red Kool-Aid is usually being served when you see rumors and pettiness run amok in the body of Christ and left unchecked or encouraged by the leadership. Be careful of the Red flavored Kool-Aid. The best way to be sure you are not drinking or dishing it out is to hold yourself to a higher standard.
We hear people say all the time “What Would Jesus Do?” Well I can tell you what he did not do…Jesus was not a gossip or a back biter. If you are in a church situation that is always running down or talking about other ministries and/or people as if to say they are inferior… you are being served Red Kool-Aid.
Lastly, there are the citrus flavored Kool-Aids — the Lemonade, Lime and Oranges. These are mild and usually involve stupid things like parking spaces and microphone time. This will get on your nerves and make you want to slap someone but at the end of the day there is no real soul damage just some human aggravation. I suggest you do not drink that either, because once you drink the mild stuff it becomes easier to swallow the really dangerous flavors.
