Let us consider one another to provoke to love.
"More than any king before him, Ahab son of Omri did many things the Lord said were wrong....He did more things to make the Lord, the God of Israel, angry than all the other kings before him" 1 Kings 16:30 and 33.
I knew a powerful person once, who was a Christian. He told me that he believed strongly that as the salt and the light, Christians should mostly be examples of God's goodness. Unfortunately, instead of showing God's love and compassion, the man (in my opinion) did more damage than good. He was quick to point out weaknesses of others, and instead of working to understand someone and hear where they were coming from, made judgements about them. I can speak from experience to say that his pride and ignorance got in the way of his message.
There is a fine line a Christian walks. While we are led to love others, and witness about Christ and His compassion, we also carry the burden to reveal the truth about sin in this world. As sinners ourselves, it is impossible to do so without being fully surrendered to Christ. We can quickly come off as staunch, ignorant, and prideful without the love of God really living in us. I fully believe that until someone gives their lives to God, in fact, our job as Christians is not to point out sin in a person, but to lead that person to Christ first.
I am very lucky. I have many people in my life who are not afraid to tell me that I suck. And while at first it might be hard to take in, I revel in knowing what I am doing wrong. Please don't take this the wrong way. I know that I have many strengths. I am not saying this to be negative or down on myself. But I also am quick to know that many of my strengths don't come from me. I am not a good parent. I am not a good friend. I am not a good worker, or daughter, or sister. I don't want to be. I want everything I do right to only come from God. Because I am fully aware (or I try to be aware) that my strengths and my relationships, and my things, and my blessings, and my consequences come straight from above. They do. I am certain that every gift is from God. My mom, and my family, and my husband and my in laws, and my job, and my kids...they are all from God. Sometimes, my sin gets in the way. And sometimes, I start to believe that they all come from me. And when I take a hold of these blessings and turn them into mine, I start to mess life up. Thankfully, I am so blessed with friends, and family who are not afraid to point out my weaknesses, and remind me when I am staunch, or stuck up, or prideful. And while being told I am wrong my be a big pill to swallow, I always come out closer to God, humbled and strengthened.
Our culture is afraid of that. We get caught up in thinking that in order to love someone, we need to be careful to not hurt their feelings. When someone is doing something wrong, or walking far from God, or making poor choices, it is easy to talk behind their back and make decisions about them in our hearts, but when it comes to confronting them, we don't. Or if we do, we do it without God behind us.
I am aware, that like my powerful acquaintance, that our message can be blurred when we point out the sin in others. I am also aware that there is a long line of Christians who have made decisions that are "unaccepting" and "unloving.". That is why I say, we walk a thin line. But it is getting scary. We are watching our culture unravel. It reminds me a lot of the people of the past. In 1 Kings, and many parts of the Old Testament, there were so many people who were blinded by their own sin. When prophets and religious leaders tried to bring the sin to their attention, or when they were warned, they got defensive. And they were quick to turn their ears away from the warnings.
I hear so often that the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New Testament. Basically pointing out that God's judgement was only good before Jesus came. I don't think that is true. God is a God of grace and mercy and patience and love. And in the Old Testament, I see that God. He is PATIENT. He waits and sits back and gives infinite chances to the Israelites to turn back to Him. But they are blind. They want things to go their way. They get defensive. They don't heed the warnings. And more people are persuaded by sin. And less people point out the sin.
I am afraid of that. I want a soft heart, that is willing to hear. I want to be close to God. He is a God of provision and love. He provides for me. He gives. And I am His child. I am also a sinner. I am dirty. I am quick to turn away. I remind myself a lot of Ahab and Omri and Zimri, and many of the kings that turned Israel away from God. In my notes in 1 Kings, I wrote "why can't they see? Are they blinded?" They had examples of the past and warnings from the leaders and followers of God before them. They knew that God led the people out of Egypt. They also knew that God blessed David, and Joshua, and Joseph, and Jacob. They should have been clear about the importance and significance of following God, but they were quick to turn away. Because sin does that. Sin is fast. Satan is quick whitted, and works to destroy us.
I feel like we all get so defensive when people tell us that we are doing something wrong. We like to take the point of view that if we aren't hurting anyone, that we are good. But the real truth is that we are all bad. You are not a good person. And that is not a bad thing if you know it. You really can't make decisions on your own. Even if it means that you are giving all of your money to charity, and you've never gotten a speeding ticket, and you have never cheated on your spouse. And you pay your taxes. And you own a home, and have a good job. Nothing is good. God is. He is so holy and righteous. And ultimately, nothing matters, but our growing relationship with the Maker of this Earth. It is a good thing to be encouraged, and be rewarded, and to be loved and accepted. But it is a better thing to be told that what you are doing is not okay. I am very thankful for the love in my life. I have been blessed beyond measure. I like to feel safe, and I like to know when I am doing things right. I like to be comfortable. But I do know that I need to be uncomfortable. And it is not fun to admit it. But as I read through the Old Testament, I am afraid to be away from God. Because even if it's a centimeter, it impedes upon my ability to hear from Him. And I don't want to end up like the Kings who meant well, but refused to listen.
I could be completely wrong, and I am okay if I am, but does our culture believe that loving someone is the same thing as never bringing before them their faults? Have we become afraid to be honest, in order to keep the peace? Do we equate love with acceptance of faults? If we all are at fault, shouldn't we, in love, hear with acceptance what our love ones have to say? Shouldn't we stop being so defensive? I think Jesus showed us that love is backwards. We are servants. To our spouses, our bosses, our coworkers, our children, families, and acquaintances. And if we are fully loving them, and looking for their needs, then our eyes can be off of us. And we can have soft hearts. We can hear that we are hurting them without getting defensive. We can be open to others pointing out our sin. And we also can be encouraging, and we can be there to soften the fall of sin. We will not hold on to the need to be loved, because in loving, we will be loved. Our needs are met, because we are fully surrendered, and our Father meets those needs first. When we are filled with Him, and he is our defense, we don't need to defend ourselves because he defends us. And he sends in angels to protect us, and friends to weed our the sin in our lives. And we grow.
13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides.[d] If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
15 Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”
16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” Matthew 15:1-20
Do Not Boast about Tomorrow
…16He who would restrain her restrains the wind, And grasps oil with his right hand. 17Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another. 18He who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit, And he who cares for his master will be honored.…Proverbs 27
I knew a powerful person once, who was a Christian. He told me that he believed strongly that as the salt and the light, Christians should mostly be examples of God's goodness. Unfortunately, instead of showing God's love and compassion, the man (in my opinion) did more damage than good. He was quick to point out weaknesses of others, and instead of working to understand someone and hear where they were coming from, made judgements about them. I can speak from experience to say that his pride and ignorance got in the way of his message.
There is a fine line a Christian walks. While we are led to love others, and witness about Christ and His compassion, we also carry the burden to reveal the truth about sin in this world. As sinners ourselves, it is impossible to do so without being fully surrendered to Christ. We can quickly come off as staunch, ignorant, and prideful without the love of God really living in us. I fully believe that until someone gives their lives to God, in fact, our job as Christians is not to point out sin in a person, but to lead that person to Christ first.
I am very lucky. I have many people in my life who are not afraid to tell me that I suck. And while at first it might be hard to take in, I revel in knowing what I am doing wrong. Please don't take this the wrong way. I know that I have many strengths. I am not saying this to be negative or down on myself. But I also am quick to know that many of my strengths don't come from me. I am not a good parent. I am not a good friend. I am not a good worker, or daughter, or sister. I don't want to be. I want everything I do right to only come from God. Because I am fully aware (or I try to be aware) that my strengths and my relationships, and my things, and my blessings, and my consequences come straight from above. They do. I am certain that every gift is from God. My mom, and my family, and my husband and my in laws, and my job, and my kids...they are all from God. Sometimes, my sin gets in the way. And sometimes, I start to believe that they all come from me. And when I take a hold of these blessings and turn them into mine, I start to mess life up. Thankfully, I am so blessed with friends, and family who are not afraid to point out my weaknesses, and remind me when I am staunch, or stuck up, or prideful. And while being told I am wrong my be a big pill to swallow, I always come out closer to God, humbled and strengthened.
Our culture is afraid of that. We get caught up in thinking that in order to love someone, we need to be careful to not hurt their feelings. When someone is doing something wrong, or walking far from God, or making poor choices, it is easy to talk behind their back and make decisions about them in our hearts, but when it comes to confronting them, we don't. Or if we do, we do it without God behind us.
I am aware, that like my powerful acquaintance, that our message can be blurred when we point out the sin in others. I am also aware that there is a long line of Christians who have made decisions that are "unaccepting" and "unloving.". That is why I say, we walk a thin line. But it is getting scary. We are watching our culture unravel. It reminds me a lot of the people of the past. In 1 Kings, and many parts of the Old Testament, there were so many people who were blinded by their own sin. When prophets and religious leaders tried to bring the sin to their attention, or when they were warned, they got defensive. And they were quick to turn their ears away from the warnings.
I hear so often that the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New Testament. Basically pointing out that God's judgement was only good before Jesus came. I don't think that is true. God is a God of grace and mercy and patience and love. And in the Old Testament, I see that God. He is PATIENT. He waits and sits back and gives infinite chances to the Israelites to turn back to Him. But they are blind. They want things to go their way. They get defensive. They don't heed the warnings. And more people are persuaded by sin. And less people point out the sin.
I am afraid of that. I want a soft heart, that is willing to hear. I want to be close to God. He is a God of provision and love. He provides for me. He gives. And I am His child. I am also a sinner. I am dirty. I am quick to turn away. I remind myself a lot of Ahab and Omri and Zimri, and many of the kings that turned Israel away from God. In my notes in 1 Kings, I wrote "why can't they see? Are they blinded?" They had examples of the past and warnings from the leaders and followers of God before them. They knew that God led the people out of Egypt. They also knew that God blessed David, and Joshua, and Joseph, and Jacob. They should have been clear about the importance and significance of following God, but they were quick to turn away. Because sin does that. Sin is fast. Satan is quick whitted, and works to destroy us.
I feel like we all get so defensive when people tell us that we are doing something wrong. We like to take the point of view that if we aren't hurting anyone, that we are good. But the real truth is that we are all bad. You are not a good person. And that is not a bad thing if you know it. You really can't make decisions on your own. Even if it means that you are giving all of your money to charity, and you've never gotten a speeding ticket, and you have never cheated on your spouse. And you pay your taxes. And you own a home, and have a good job. Nothing is good. God is. He is so holy and righteous. And ultimately, nothing matters, but our growing relationship with the Maker of this Earth. It is a good thing to be encouraged, and be rewarded, and to be loved and accepted. But it is a better thing to be told that what you are doing is not okay. I am very thankful for the love in my life. I have been blessed beyond measure. I like to feel safe, and I like to know when I am doing things right. I like to be comfortable. But I do know that I need to be uncomfortable. And it is not fun to admit it. But as I read through the Old Testament, I am afraid to be away from God. Because even if it's a centimeter, it impedes upon my ability to hear from Him. And I don't want to end up like the Kings who meant well, but refused to listen.
I could be completely wrong, and I am okay if I am, but does our culture believe that loving someone is the same thing as never bringing before them their faults? Have we become afraid to be honest, in order to keep the peace? Do we equate love with acceptance of faults? If we all are at fault, shouldn't we, in love, hear with acceptance what our love ones have to say? Shouldn't we stop being so defensive? I think Jesus showed us that love is backwards. We are servants. To our spouses, our bosses, our coworkers, our children, families, and acquaintances. And if we are fully loving them, and looking for their needs, then our eyes can be off of us. And we can have soft hearts. We can hear that we are hurting them without getting defensive. We can be open to others pointing out our sin. And we also can be encouraging, and we can be there to soften the fall of sin. We will not hold on to the need to be loved, because in loving, we will be loved. Our needs are met, because we are fully surrendered, and our Father meets those needs first. When we are filled with Him, and he is our defense, we don't need to defend ourselves because he defends us. And he sends in angels to protect us, and friends to weed our the sin in our lives. And we grow.
Matthew 15:1-20New International Version (NIV)
That Which Defiles
15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’[a] and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’[c]”
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’[c]”
10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides.[d] If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
15 Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”
16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” Matthew 15:1-20
Do Not Boast about Tomorrow
…16He who would restrain her restrains the wind, And grasps oil with his right hand. 17Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another. 18He who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit, And he who cares for his master will be honored.…Proverbs 27
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