Christian Community - Others

By Chuck Cordovano - For most of my life I was a loner.  I always seemed to feel alone and grew to be comfortable alone.  And being comfortably alone, I became self centered.  I spent many years alone and in pain and I drank alcohol to ease my pain.  I learned at 44 years old, I didn’t have to live alone and in pain.  I learned that through the grace of God and Jesus on the cross I was saved and I learned that other believers would help me in my time of need. Today, I believe Satan feeds on our loneliness so we must come together to fight Satan.  We must care for and help others.  When we work together and help one another the devil flees and looks for easier prey.

In Matthew Chapter 4: 1-11, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert where he was tempted by Satan.

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”  Matthew 4:1

Notice Jesus was “led by the Spirit… to be tempted.”  We are guided by the Spirit in everything we do, even when we are tempted to sin.  We also have been given free will so we choose, after the temptation, to sin or not.  Jesus, alone in the desert, was tempted by the devil.  The Life Application Study Bible points out that the temptation of Christ shows us the following:

• That Jesus is the Son of God because he overcomes all Satan’s temptations
• We, too, will be tested and knowing this we should be alert and ready for it
• Satan is real and always trying to get us to live his way or OUR way – not God’s way
• Temptation itself is not sin, we sin when we give in to temptation and disobey God
• Jesus wasn’t tempted when he was in the temple or at his baptism, he was tempted when he was alone, hungry, and tired.

Satan’s temptations of Christ focused on three important areas of human nature:

1. Physical needs and desires
2. Possessions and power
3. Pride

Hebrews 4:15 says that Jesus, “faced all the same testings we do, yet did not sin.”  Jesus, as man, experienced what we experience and is there to help us in our pain and struggles.


So, in 1999 I was working at Lowe’s in West Columbia.  I was 41 years old.  A year earlier I left my job as a National Accounts Manager with a major cutting tool manufacturing company where I had worked for 5 years and had been very successful.  I had decided to start my own business and wanted to know more about the Home Center Retail/US Hardware market.  I wrote many business plans, unfortunately, all on cocktail napkins.  I like to say I went from making $70,000 a year to $7.00 per hour.

As miserable and alone as I was, the Holy Spirit was with me.  I did everything I could to ignore God.  I didn’t listen when he spoke to me through others.  I hung out at the worst bars I could find.  I never went to Church – that thought never crossed my mind.  I didn’t pray.  I was right where Satan wanted me.  But the Spirit is stronger than Satan.

In 2001, I was as miserable and alone as I had ever been.  In my deepest despair, I prayed and Jesus spoke to me – no, he yelled at me… “You don’t have to live like this anymore!”

“What do I do, Lord?” I asked.

“Listen to others.” He said.

Did I listen?  No!  It was Masters weekend and I liked to drink during major sporting events and the Masters was a 4 day major sporting event.  By Sunday night I was beat down and Jesus spoke to me again, “You don’t have to live like this, listen to others.”

The next day, I checked myself into rehab and I began to listen to others.  The first group of “others” I had to listen to – the first community I was a part of, was alcoholics and drug addicts.  Looking back, I see that my healing began through community.  After the rehab community came the intensive outpatient community and them the AA community.  But AA doesn’t work without “a God of our understanding.” The God of my understanding was Jesus so I needed a Church community – Washington Street United Methodist Church.

In 2003, I started my business representing companies to the Home Center retailers and National Industrial Distributors.  Businesses are about making money but by this time I had changed.  I decided the purpose of my business was to “bring businesses together” and that I would look at my business as an opportunity to help others… there’s that word again.

At this point in my life, I needed to get some exercise.  I’ve always played golf and tennis.  Golf can be a solitary game so the Spirit leads me to tennis.  There is a huge tennis community in Lexington and I found myself playing with others, even joining teams!  And I met Windy.  The Holy Spirit gives me, an old, undeserving drunk the greatest gift of all – family.  Windy, Taylor and me – wow!

Windy & Taylor were attending Gateway Baptist Church and I was attending Washington Street United Methodist Church, but not for long.  Together we found our Church home, after visiting many Churches, at Lexington Baptist Church.  Jan Kinard tells Windy we should visit the V class.  Jimmy thinks I won’t make it long because I dress up to much for Church – look at Jimmy today!

Look at Ecclesiastes 4:9-12:

9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 11 Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? 12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

I am here today, sober for 12 years, with a family, a member of Lexington Baptist Church and the V Sunday School class.  People even invite me to be on their tennis teams.  I have a business and care about my clients and customers.  I have friends, not people I drank with in bars, but people with whom I worship.  Two years ago I went to North Dakota with members of this class to teach young boys and girls to play football.  I learned so much from those men and those children.  For one week I was a part of that community; a community of sharing and giving to others in a place far away from home.

My family, this Church, this Sunday School class, all of you, are important to me.  Life isn’t about me, it’s about others.