Megachurch pastor urges Christians to stop ‘climbing,' come down from their ‘Zaccheaus’ tree
A Megachurch pastor has warned that people often try to compensate for their shortcomings by climbing up worldly ladders when Jesus wants them to "come down," just like the tax collector Zacchaeus in the Book of Luke.
Charles Metcalf, an executive pastor at Michael Todd's Transformation Church of Tulsa, Oklahoma, preached a sermon on Sunday in which he urged Christians to "come down" from the trees they have been "climbing."
Metcalf told his congregation in Part 16 of the church's "Cuffing Season" sermon series that "climbing" can be defined as "using effort and activity to achieve a higher position or status."
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"All of us in some area fall short. All of us in some area are trying to compensate for that thing that we don't have. All of us in some area have some things in our life that didn't go how we thought they were going to go, and so, we start performing. We start climbing ladders to show Jesus, 'Hey, look over here,'" Metcalf preached.
"Maybe you aren't performing for Jesus. … Maybe there's some area where if you were honest, you'd find yourself in a tree."
Metcalf centered his message on the story of Zacchaeus, found in Luke 19. Zacchaeus was a wealthy tax collector who was short and famously had to climb a tree to see Jesus over the crowd when He came to town.
Metcalf said that Jesus stopped to see Zacchaeus in the tree because Jesus wanted to call him to come down from not only his physical place in the tree but also from an internal place of pride.
Jesus requested to visit Zacchaeus' home despite Jesus' knowledge of Zacchaeus' sinful reputation of stealing money from the Jewish people.
Metcalf said that many Christians falsely believe that they achieved their spiritual successes on their own. And in turn, he said, God has His Eye on the trees they are "climbing" because He wants to help guide Christians to fix their eyes on Him.
"[Many of] you think when Jesus stops under your tree, that's because you timed it and picked it perfectly. … 'I haven't missed a church service in over 42 years, so that's why Jesus always shows up,'" Metcalf said.
"'I haven't missed a YouVersion scripture, and my streak is 962, so Jesus always stops under my tree.' 'I lifted my hands in worship so much better than that other person next to me. They were balled up on the floor, probably because they have a lot of sin in their life. But, Jesus always stops under my tree,'" Metcalf continued.
"What you don't realize is a short man climbing up in a tree full of leaves would be harder to see. It was convenient for him to see Jesus. But, all of your climbing muddies up where you actually are."
Metcalf said that while there's nothing wrong with success in life, many people spend too much time "climbing" or "performing for certain people."
When Christians spend too much time "climbing" to reach success, Metcalf said they often lose sight of the right motives behind their actions.
"Maybe you're climbing the corporate ladder [by saying]: 'I didn't get recognized as a child because I didn't have enough, and I didn't like how it felt when everybody else got new school clothes, and I didn't get new school clothes. So, I'm going to make sure that I go to this college, that I make a certain amount of money, so I don't ever have to depend on anybody,'" Metcalf said.
"You're really performance-based in [that] way. And it comes out as super successful. It comes out as super-funny. Some of you all, you wasn't funny growing up, but you found out that funny gets attention," he added.
"So, you have climbed the tree of sarcasm and humor and standup as a means to be higher than where you actually are, as a means to disguise what's really going on, as a means to hide the fact that if you were to come down off of your tree, it would get real embarrassing real quick."
Metcalf said there is an invitation from Jesus for everyone, even those who find themselves "in a tree."
"I don't know what your tree is. I don't know why you're climbing. I don't know why people's opinions have so much weight in your life. I don't know why you present a certain way at church, and then you go in your car and act totally different around your family," Metcalf preached.
"The invitation of Jesus is He stops under your performance, and He says: 'Zacchaeus, come down.' Those two words are the message God told me to tell you: come down. Jesus comes to you today, and He says: 'come down.'"
Nicole Alcindor is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: nicole.alcindor@christianpost.com.
