Ever feel so passionate, infuriated, angry, or zealous, that you just wanted to throw a table over? If you’re similar to this guy, then you have probably felt this way more often then you should for wrong reasons, but maybe we should be more willing to for the right reasons…

Right now I’m studying through the Gospel of John with a very wise man, and this morning I was working through chapter 2. If you’re not familiar with it (or even if you are), stop reading this right now, pick up your Bible and read it. I promise it’ll be good for you.

Now that you’ve done that, I want to talk about the second half of the chapter – vrs. 11 and on. Look at what Jesus did! Oh man, what would be the equivalent of that today? Jesus was so passionately concerned about the holiness of the temple he was willing to start cracking a whip at people and throw tables around! Is this how you picture Jesus? Can you envision Him doing this? If you and I can’t, then maybe, just maybe, we have missed something about God and His Son. He is wild! Or as C.S. Lewis put it, in the words of Mr. Beaver – “Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.” We, as the Body of Christ, are in danger of forgetting this aspect of God, especially here in the west. We live in the most opulent culture that has ever existed, with more resources than what we know what to do with, and now there’s a generation complaining that they’ve lost their childhood? What is going on?? This is what I think (obviously, since I’m writing this), I think we are afraid. We have become afraid of the uncomfortable. So much so, that we are unwilling to stand up for truth within the Body of Christ! But maybe some tables need to get flipped. Maybe we need to get zealous for truth and holiness and start caring about the kingdom of God. Maybe we can get angry that Christianity has become a prosperity country club. Jesus sure did! He saw something incredibly offensive to the character of God and also what was in direct disobedience to His Word, and He acted with conviction and boldness, and made a clear statement that He stood for Truth and Holiness.

Now, we as believers in Jesus Christ, fully resting on the finished work of His death and resurrection, have become the Temple. Within in us dwells the Spirit of the Living God. Do we care when that temple is defiled? Do we care when others allow it to be defiled? Do we actively seek to build it up? Or are we actively tearing it down? And are we carrying out the purpose that He has given His Temple in this age – namely, going out and making disciples of all nations? If we’re not, maybe someone needs to start flippin some tables…