The Holy Common

As I fumble into this life of missions, I’ve become aware of a flawed concept within the church that has deeply impacted my life. However, I wasn’t fully aware of it until recently. It’s a fairly widespread misunderstanding that seems innocent enough, but the consequences are long-reaching and messy.

It’s the misunderstanding of holy versus common.

Now, stick with me for a bit as I try to explain something ancient. There are many times in the Bible where these two words, holy and common, are used in contrast to one another, and the purpose was clear: to create order and clarity around practices that could be dangerous. For instance, in the Old Testament temple, you couldn’t just use any old bowl to transfer water from a holy place. You had to use the bowl that had been set apart for that particular job. This was so that there was no contamination between say a blood sacrifice bowl and a holy water bowl.

On another level, we do the same thing in our homes. We have a cloth for cleaning the toilet, and a different cloth for cleaning the dishes, at least I hope we all do! The idea is that it helps minimise contamination between what is considered ‘dirty’ and what is considered ‘clean’ in order to keep us healthy.

However, this contrast between holy and common becomes dangerous when we the Church take it and apply it to people’s lives based on job descriptions and social situations. We somehow believe that the special ones who are pastors, church leaders and missionaries are ‘holier’ people, doing ‘holy’ jobs, and by default, everyone else doing jobs such as banking, cooking and welding are the ‘common’ people doing ‘common’ jobs. For example, if we see a leader in the church, they must have shown godly qualities, and therefore they can now be considered ‘holier’ than the other people who attend church, and so on. We use verses from the Bible to strengthen our belief in this, such as the ones that state that leaders should be above reproach, care for their families, and good with money.

While these are definitely good standards to hold, I think we’ve exaggerated it to the point where we are asking these Christian leaders to live faultless lives, without mistake. We’re actually asking them to be sinless.

But here’s the catch: no one is capable of living up to the expectations we place on leadership. In fact, no one should! The very key to Christianity is continuous and daily repentance and a life of humility. And when these leaders encourage these beliefs by choosing not to share humbling experiences, they foster the belief that leaders are infallible and should remain so.

I want to be clear here, I’m not talking about the kind of sin that builds up and requires months or even years to clear through. There are actually really good reasons for the standards that we ask of our leaders, usually reasons that involve consistency, reputation and spiritual power. But I do want to challenge how rarely we hear leaders talking about present struggles with sin, struggles they should be facing regularly and choosing to repent of daily.

I’m going to write personally here, I’ve enjoyed a certain amount of the credibility that comes with the title we now hold in Christian circles. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t enjoy that sometimes. But I’m equally as uncomfortable about it because I know myself too well, I know my daily sins, I know how flawed I am, and I will never live up to the expectations that the church places on leaders. If it’s not already true today, one day you will see flaws in me that you won’t like, flaws that are repetitive and require daily work to hopefully one day overcome.

Let’s take a look at the other side of the coin. Because we treat one group of people as holy, we then go on to treat the other folk like they’re less holy and less valuable to the church community. We think to ourselves “Church wouldn’t function without a pastor but we could make do without the plumber”. We create a culture where people feel like they need to give up their skilled vocations in order to be considered more ‘holy’, instead of empowering them to use their unique gifts in their current situations in a way that brings credibility to God.

Sometimes, because of this damaging Church attitude, when I’m sharing my story of how God is calling me to overseas missions, some of my friends start to feel ‘lesser-than’ or beneath me because they still have regular vocations, and that’s simply not true. The more we allow this attitude to sit, because of how good it makes us as leaders feel, the more damage it does in the long run.

In contrast, to be holy is simply this: to be set apart for something, to be used for the purpose for which you were made. Holiness is not more achievable in a church than it is in an office building. Holiness is not reliant on the amount you have sacrificed or the amount of discomfort you live in. Holiness is doing what you’re meant to be doing with what you have been given. Simple.

If you’re a missionary or a Christian leader reading this, then let me challenge you to wrestle with the respect that is being given you. Let’s challenge the idea that we as leaders are infallible, and let’s be loud and unwavering in our commitment to honesty and openness about our flaws.

And finally, if you’re one of those who work the 8-5 grind, or are a solo mama, or hold any of the other ‘common’ titles, and have felt less spiritual because of it, don’t. You are living in the Holy Common, and the leaders should be right there alongside you, encouraging you with their life choices despite their flaws, not without them.