WATCHWORD:
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others.[a] The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.[b]3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye[c] when you have a log in your own? Matthew 7:1-3
“Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” 9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.) 11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So, they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” 12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” 13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. Jonah 1:8-15
Meditation:
The Blame Game, Part 2
I don’t like the idea of writing about the blame game…it is so negative. The way to avoid responsibility for your own behavior doesn’t make any sense at all in the walk of a Christian. But, it has been going on since Adam and Eve. Some of the critical moments in our history featured that same mentality that says, I am not responsible.
The blame game doesn’t fit the Christian. Yet, it pops up in even the best of churches. Did you know that in the 1930s, the German church leaders supported Adolph Hitler? Why? They defended him because he didn’t smoke, or drink, he encouraged women to dress modestly, and he opposed pornography. I wonder what they thought about genocide?
You probably heard the story of a young man who showed up at church in raggedy jeans and a tee-shirt. Following the service, he complemented the pastor on a fine message and the pastor proceeded to tell him that he was dressed inappropriately for worship. The next Sunday, the young men showed up in the same garb. At the end of the service the pastor chastised him again about what he was wearing. He said, “You know, Pastor, I prayed about that, but my Lord told me he didn’t know what I should wear, he had never been to this church.”
Whenever we judge righteousness by externals, we get into trouble. In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees had it all together, on the outside. Jesus called them “whitewashed sepulchers”. They used truth to elevate themselves, while putting everyone else down. Truth can be misused. Truth without grace, produces anger and cynicism. Just look at the ancient Jews and you will see that there is nothing colder, drier, and more difficult to achieve, than rigid, legalistic orthodoxy. Think 613 laws. Laws…thou shalt nots.
I confess, there are times when I think everything that is wrong with the world is someone else’s fault. I confess I don’t think there’s anything I can do about that. How wrong can I be? What else can I blame on others? Global warming…someone else did that, not me! And, yet…
I witnessed that some years ago in my own church when two our church leader’s daughters arrived for church with piercings, tattoos, hair coloring, and, ah, how do I say this…clothing, kind of. The externals seemed to override the fact that they were there, in church, to worship. Judgment overshadowed our own worship.
I realize that sometimes showing grace requires silence. Other times it requires speaking up. During visitation at a recent funeral, one who was paying her respects, came down the line, carrying her mask in her hand, and speaking directly into the face of members of the mourning family, one by one. My dilemma; be silent or make a scene, at a funeral? What would you do?
I know. That is hard. But is it? What would Jesus have us do? You know we cannot duck it. I think He would have us speak the truth in love. Truth with grace.
Tomorrow, let’s think about how blessed it is to be a Christian. Amen.
Bulletin Board:
Wisdom – Yesterday was history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift, that’s why we call it the present.
Humor — Two little boys were known troublemakers, stealing everything they could get their hands, even from the church. One day a priest stopped one of the boys and asked, “Where is God?” The boy shrugged and the priest repeated, “Where is God?” The boy ran out of the cathedral crying to his home where he hid in a closet. Eventually his brother found him and asked, “What’s wrong?” The crying boy replied, “We’re in trouble now! God is missing and they think we took him!”
Prayers:
Dear Father, please help me to be faithful in all the duties You have entrusted to me this day, fulfilling each with great care and love!
Lord, may I quickly obey, but if I do step out of Your will, then may I quickly recognize it, and immediately return to the path You have for me. Don’t let me sleep comfortably in a spiritual stupor, help me to live with spiritual eyes and ears wide open.
Savior, I ask no one will suffer for my disobedience and sin. When I make mistakes, just like Jonah, let me take personal responsibility for them. Let me have the courage to own up to my sin, mistakes, and failures. I want to live for You, but when I fail I want to have the character to admit it and correct it. Give me a contrite heart that is willing to correct the problems I have created. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
