As a pastor, I have been carrying out my ministry for many years. One of the sacred burdens of ministry is the responsibility of preparing and delivering sermons every week. Since 1995, I believe I have preached countless sermons. Yet, among many memories, there is one particular sister who remains vivid in my mind. By now, she would be at an age where she is likely a wife and a mother.

When I served as an associate pastor, her posture during sermons was always the same and especially memorable. She would sit with her legs crossed, her head tilted noticeably to the left, fixing her gaze on the preacher. Over time, I realized that she did this in every worship service without exception.

What became even clearer over the course of about a year was that this “tilted posture” extended beyond worship into her relationships with others. In conversations and in shared work, she tended to approach matters from a slanted perspective—often beginning with resistance or dislike. Even when she did cooperate, it was usually passive at best, and more often accompanied by complaints that dampened the atmosphere. That is how I remember her.

As time passed, and as I learned to reflect with greater understanding, I came to think that there must have been unspoken reasons within her—perhaps shaped by the hardships of life as an international student. Still, one conviction remains firm: when we view and judge things from a tilted position, we cannot clearly see their true essence.

Recently, in Korea, a well-known political figure attended a church service at the end of the year, and photographs of the visit became headline news. What troubled me was that the media portrayed the church itself as if it were a standard of what a “good” or “beautiful” church should be. In reality, that church is grounded in liberation theology, which many churches rightly approach with caution.

The dangers of liberation theology lie in its tendency to politicize the gospel and to ideologize God’s goodness under the banner of advocating for the poor. Most seriously, it can distort the church’s essential mission, turning evangelism and mission into political or social movements. I believe this has become a serious crisis, negatively affecting not only the Korean church but also society and politics at large.

Why do such distorted perspectives of faith arise? In my view, they often begin with an incorrect point of reference. At the foundation of that perspective is the belief that the individual self is the ultimate judge. Right and wrong, justice and injustice, are determined by one’s own standards. Even laws shaped over many years are criticized, condemned, and even rewritten if they do not suit one’s personal preferences.

This is the kind of flawed faith that emerges when a person assumes ownership of their own life. One common expression of this is treating God as a kind of vending machine or automated response system—someone who exists merely to supply what we want when we want it.

We must once again remember Martin Luther’s definition of prayer:
“Prayer is not commanding God, but aligning myself with God.”

As we enter a new year, I sincerely hope it will be a year in which we straighten our heads—once tilted at seventy degrees—and stand upright before the Word of God.