For some reason when I read Psalm 110 tonight the current situation with the burning of another religion’s holy text came to mind. “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet…He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.” It seems that those involved think that God has spoken these same words to them today and they are leading the fight vociferously in defense of God’s kingdom (or possibly their own). Whether this is true or not, it’s where my mind went. But then as I start to condemn them for their nasty behaviors, I jump over to I Corinthians 8:7-13.
The other emotion I feel for them besides anger is pity. I feel sorry that their hyper-condemnatory views and actions are probably turning people off to the message of Christ. I feel sorry that they live such angry lives that the only way they know to express themselves is with flamboyant displays of futility. I think a point Paul is trying to make is that how we react to situations with which we disagree or even detest especially in the sight of others is an important part of our testimony to believers and non-believers alike. Whether I think I’m the stronger or weaker brother in this situation is not even important. But if I react with anger, bile, hatred, rudeness or even apathy to the situations around me, someone is watching. It might be my 11 year old son, the neighbor across the street, a coworker, or a complete stranger.
So many times in my life I’ve unfairly judged others by standards I made up. I remember as a teenager very much having a holier-than-thou attitude towards others in the youth group who didn’t show up for every event like I did or maybe only showed up for the “fun” events like Six Flags or camp. It was also fun to criticize all the stupid rules that other adults put in place for things that go on in the church.
As I’ve grown up I’m sorry to say that some of this attitude still remains. I criticize those that aren’t as good as me and fight with those who try to put too many walls in places I don’t think they should be. Whether I’m right or wrong in my assessments is not the point. My judgments and grumblings are not conducive to the spreading of the gospel. Thankfully Paul shows us an attitude of humility. And when attacked, he doesn’t fight back. He defends his case lovingly and thoroughly. His goal is not to make himself look good but always to advance the cause of Christ and never to do anything to hinder it.
Father, give me a spirit like Paul that I may be humble and not say and do the stupid stuff that will turn others away from you.