Snippet: Avoiding Conflict? At What Cost (Thrill Series)

Snip·pet | ˈsnipit | noun a small piece or brief extract.

Continuing with the Thrill Snippet Series, here’s a string of related snippets from Trevin Wax’s The Thrill of Orthodoxy:

“Most people don't like conflict. …

“[But] faithfulness to Christ makes it impossible to avoid conflict in a world with competing truth claims. …

“When we go too far in our attempts to reduce conflict with the world, we usually take one of two paths: the path of accommodation or the path of retreat. …

“The Path of Accommodation. …If they’re most concerned about keeping peace with friends and neighbors who lean to the right on the political spectrum, they may find it easier to downplay the Bible’s emphasis on our responsibility to the poor and oppressed, the hospitality due to the immigrant and refugee, and the justice of recognizing the intrinsic worth of every human being regardless of ethnicity or class. If they’re more concerned about reducing conflict with people on the left, they may find it easier to leave out Christianity’s insistence on the goodness of our natural bodies (male and female), the full humanity of prenatal children, and the biblical vision of sex and marriage….

“The Path of Retreat. …requires a retreat from society wherever possible. …

“The Problem with the Paths. Both…foreclose on the adventure of Christianity. For those seeking to accommodate the world, the sharpness of the missionary edge gets lost. …For those seeking to withdraw from the world, the ‘purity of the church’ is maintained at the expense of its missionary heartbeat. …

“A church that affirms correct doctrine and yet fails at the Great Commission is not pure at all.”

Photo by John McArthur on Unsplash

Sermon Recap: "3 Signs We’re Misaligned with Jesus" (Matthew 21:12-22)

When Jesus entered Jerusalem in Matthew 21, he didn’t quietly blend in. He marched into the temple, flipped tables, and made a bold statement: the people who were supposed to be aligned with God—his own people—had lost the plot.

That moment is more than a dramatic scene; it’s a mirror held up to us. The religious leaders thought they were doing everything right. But in reality, they were ticking God off. The question we have to ask is: could the same be true of us?

Jesus’ actions in the temple expose three signs that we might be out of alignment with him:

1. We Prioritize Convenience Over Christ’s Mission

In the temple, worshipers needed to exchange money and buy animals for sacrifice. That wasn’t the issue. The problem was where these services were being offered right in the Court of the Gentiles, the only place where non-Jews could come to pray. By prioritizing convenience for insiders, they pushed outsiders out.

Jesus quotes Isaiah to say the temple should be “a house of prayer for all nations.” But the leaders had turned it into a place that served themselves.

Today’s warning? Churches and Christians can do the same—designing everything around insiders, forgetting the spiritually curious, and losing sight of the mission. When we do that, we’ve hijacked God’s mission.

2. We Neglect Compassion

After clearing the temple, Jesus immediately begins healing the blind and the lame—those historically excluded from the temple since David’s conquest of Jerusalem (see 2 Samuel 5:8).

This isn’t just a healing story; it’s a symbolic reversal. The very people pushed aside are now front and center in Jesus’ kingdom. Compassion, especially for the marginalized, is not a side project in God’s kingdom…it’s a hallmark.

Neglecting compassion is a sure sign we’re misaligned with Jesus. That’s why serving those in need through tangible acts of love—both individually and as a church—is at the heart of discipleship.

3. We Pretend to Be Something We’re Not

The fig tree Jesus cursed had leaves but no fruit. In that region, leaves meant that fruit was also present. But this tree was a pretender. It looked alive, but it was barren.

That fig tree became a symbol of the temple and its leaders—impressive outwardly, but spiritually hollow. Jesus uses it to say: God sees through the façade.

Jesus is condemning hypocrisy. Hypocrisy isn’t struggling with sin. That’s called being human. Hypocrisy is pretending we’re more spiritual than we really are. Putting on a show. That kind of playacting doesn’t impress Jesus; it offends him.

So What Does Alignment Look Like?

• Prioritize God’s mission. Live out your calling to reach people far from God. Start with prayer, live with intentionality, and practice BLESS rhythms.

• Practice compassion. Move toward the hurting. Partner with ministries that serve the vulnerable. Serve in ways that stretch your comfort.

• Be real. Be honest about your struggles. Drop the mask. Invite others to pray with you.

Jesus cleared the temple to reorient their hearts to God’s purpose. Let’s allow this passage to do the same for us.