The phrase is a familiar one. It actually comes from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The lead character is considering life with its troubles and pain but acknowledges the alternative might be worse. And so Prince Hamlet begins a lengthy speech with the quote, “To be or not to be, that is the question.”
Let us use the idea to spur our thoughts. Who are you? Most people identify themselves with what they do. But think about it in a spiritual context. Are you who you are or are you what you do? Said another way, is your life defined by “To be” or “To do”?
Consider the idea of “be” vs “do”. It is an idea of growth. Consider the importance of our individually becoming what we need to be. Inherent in the idea is our inward being. The Bible encourages us to examine ourselves (2 Cor 13:5).
I recently read an article that made the following statement. The leaders in the church are responsible for the apathy that exists in our midst. For years, our emphasis has been almost totally on trying to get people to come to church instead of trying to get people to be the church. Maybe if something good has come from the pandemic of the last 12 months, it is we have had the opportunity to be the church.
Maybe in the past, we have been more concerned with the building rather than the being. What is the church? It is most certainly NOT the building.
We are guilty! We say “Come to worship, give a little of your income, take a small part in the work of the church and you have fulfilled your part in being a Christian.” I say, “Not!”
Does this sound like Paul in Phil 1:21 when he says, “For me to live is Christ?” The Christian life is all consuming – it is my being – it is my all! Or else it is nothing.
That may sound pretty harsh but that is what Jesus said in Matthew 6:24. He made it plain that man cannot serve both GOD and mammon. We are in one camp or the other. He demands our total devotion (Matthew 10:37).
Wasn’t that the reason Christ condemned the Pharisees in Matthew 23? Over and over He called them hypocrites. They were all about the minutia of their actions. They were legalists. And yet their hearts were not right.
Be is a small word containing only two letters but it carries so much meaning. I challenge the reader to consult various dictionaries or online sources to find a myriad of definitions. But for our purposes, consider the idea of a state of continual existence.
Peter’s last book is a short book of only 60 verses. In those verses are several verses that contain the word be. We might refer to them as the “be” attitudes. Herein Peter encourages us to “be” faithful. Let us study these be verses and note the context in which they are found.
2 Peter 1:10 – be diligent to make your call and election sure
2 Peter 3:2 – be mindful of the words spoken by the prophets
2 Peter 3:11 – be holy in your conduct
Verse 14 of Peter’s last chapter notes we are to “be diligent to be found without spot and blameless.”
To be or not to be? I want to be found without spot and blameless. I realize my only chance at this is to live for Christ.
Let us be the church. If we get our “be” right – then our “do” will take care of itself. Let us be. And let us pray the prayer of the Psalmist, “Create in me a clean heart, O GOD, and renew within me a right spirit.” (Psa 51:10)