White Elephants in the Kingdom

(from 2007)

Introduction

Sometimes you hear the phrase “white elephant’ being used for a gift exchange during the holidays. A person brings an item they really don’t want but doesn’t hasn’t thrown it away and brings it to the party in exchange for another useless item that someone else doesn’t want.

From the internet, I found an origin of this phrase:

“A useless and troublesome possession that one cannot easily get rid of. Legend has it that rare albino elephants in ancient Siam automatically became the property of the king. At least one such monarch gave a white elephant to any courtier who fell out of favor; the subject was soon ruined by the cost of maintaining this precious gift.”

Since the white elephant was so respected by all, the elephant couldn’t be used for work; thereby, it ruined an individual financially by the maintenance of it.

Are You Useful?

There are times when the Kingdom of God has “white elephants”. One example of this is when a member of the church considers baptism as the final step. They assume that once they are added to the Kingdom (church) there’s nothing more to do. They’ll simply sit back and wait for heaven. They overlook the later half of Rev. 2:10 which states, “…Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (NKJV)

But baptism is only the beginning of the journey. In Acts 2:42, after all who obeyed and were baptized they, “…continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. (NKJV)

This shows that this is only the beginning of their new lives as Christians and not the end. They are babes in Christ as stated in Hebrews 5: 12c-14, “you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.  (NKJV)

Another example, of a white elephant in the kingdom, is the ‘New Creatures’ in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17) who doesn’t feel comfortable with doing the work of the church. They will sit back and allow those who have been Christians a long time to do it instead. They assume that others are accustomed to the extra work. In the meantime, they will wait until they’ve been a Christian a while and have the confidence to participate without looking like a fool. The question is: How long is ‘a while’? 6 months? 6 years? As far as they are concerned: the longer the wait, the better as they will gain more experience. But you have to labor to gain that experience. It doesn’t just happen as you sit there week after week.

Retirement from the Lord?

One final example comes from the opposite end of the previous example. Those who have been Christians for many years decide they have put in enough hours of labor that now the younger members can do it. They feel a sense of accomplishment from their younger days and feel obligated to sit on the sidelines and watch. No one in the church should ever feel like a spectator. If you’re in the assembly, you are a participant; following along in your bible, singing the songs, praying, partaking of the Lord’s Supper, and giving of your means.

Conclusion

God doesn’t have room for white elephants. On the day of judgment, He will purge them out. As Jesus stated in a parable, “Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. (NKJV). And again, in regards to the one talent man: “And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'  (NKJV)

If you are unsure of what you can do in the kingdom, ask one of the brethren. Even my daughters, though mere children, used to pass out my bulletins to people in the congregation. If they can be useful, there’s no reason why we all can’t be useful.