I think of the Bible story of the disciples who got
upset that someone else was casting out demons in Christ's name. They wanted Jesus to make them stop. They believed that they only had a right to
cast out demons, and anyone else doing it was just wrong. Jesus said that he that is for us is not
against us. This is a huge lesson for
us. Most of the time, what we do not
understand we will call dumb, stupid, or evil.
In the case of God's work, the Bible also tells us not to call good
evil. How are we to discern between good
and evil? By the fruit.
Vulnerability means embracing that I might be
wrong. Is it possible? Yes.
Judging others as dumb, stupid, or evil just so I feel safe, is still
JUDGING. We are told to judge not that
we be not judged, and in what we judge, we will be judged. And with what
measure we measure, it will be measured back to us. This is serious stuff. Trusting God with others is modeled in the
parable of the wheat and tares. The
question was asked...do we pull the tares out of the wheat? The master said that it would be too easy to
pull up the wheat. His answer was to let
the tares and wheat grow until they had fruit.
And, most importantly, it is the angels who do the harvesting...the
removing of tares from wheat. I am so
glad that this job belongs to the angels.
Vulnerability means trusting God with others. Vulnerability means not judging. Vulnerability means that the safe place of
being "right" while victimizing others with all of our judgments is
saying more about us than anyone else.
If we will go to a deep level, ask why is it so important to me that
this person(s) be wrong? It is not about them. When you ask the question out loud in front
of God and everyone else, it can be overwhelming. If we will stick to the questioning long
enough and deep enough, we will find that at the deepest level we are afraid
that we might be wrong in what we believe.
We are choosing to be right over being righteous. Again, we are told that others will know that
we are Christians by our love to each other.
Well, trusting and being vulnerable is big
deal. We can really only trust when we
are persuaded that God can handle everything.
Ephesians 4:29: Let no
corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the
use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. We can dress it up in all kinds of religious
garb trying to make ourselves look good while we heap judgment on others, but
it is still judgment and it is not ministering grace to anyone.
If we spent as much time in talking about Jesus and His
love as we did about all the wrong we perceive in others, it would be a
different planet. 2 Timothy 2:23-26: But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes,
knowing that they generate strife. And a
servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach,
patient, in humility correcting those
who are in opposition. If God perhaps
will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may
come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken
captive by him to do his will."
What we think is at stake (being right) is not what is at
stake. Salvation of others is at
stake. And when you are on the receiving
end of the judgment, let the above words be a balm to your own wounds. I cannot tell you how many stories of hurt
and wounding by Christian to Christian I have heard. Again, I repeat: do you want to be right or
do you want to be righteous?
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