Part 8 (1/2)
A courageous person is not one who never feels fear, but someone who feels fear and takes proper action anyway.
CHAPTER 32.
When Someone Fails As a believer in Jesus one of the things you will have to learn to deal with is other people's faults and failures. What should your att.i.tude be?
Paul instructed people not to teach others to do things they were not doing themselves: Well then, you who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you teach against stealing, do you steal (take what does not really belong to you)? You who say not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery [are you unchaste in action or in thought]? . . . You who boast in the Law, do you dishonor G.o.d by breaking the Law [by stealthily infringing upon or carelessly neglecting or openly breaking it]? (Romans 2:2123).
It is confusing for a young Christian if or when they see church leaders or those in authority doing things they know aren't right. It can either lead them to be discouraged and give up or cause them to think, If you can act that way and still be a Christian then I guess I can too. We each need to remember that G.o.d has called us to be responsible for our actions. Don't use someone else's bad behavior as an excuse to behave badly yourself. G.o.d holds us accountable for every thought and every action-but our responsibility doesn't stop there. We are also responsible to help lift up others when they fall. We would like to see those who lead or teach others always live up to what they teach, but the truth is we all make mistakes.
Don't use someone else's bad behavior as an excuse to behave badly yourself.
Perhaps nowhere in the Bible is this concept more clearly defined than in Galatians 6:13. Paul lays down three important principles Satan doesn't want us to grasp. First, when we become aware a sister or brother has fallen into sin, we are to do whatever we can to help lift up that person. Paul writes, If any person is overtaken in misconduct or sin of any sort, you who are spiritual [who are responsive to and controlled by the Spirit] should set him right and restore and reinstate him, without any sense of superiority and with all gentleness, keeping an attentive eye on yourself, lest you should be tempted also. Bear (endure, carry) one another's burdens and troublesome moral faults, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ (the Messiah) and complete what is lacking [in your obedience to it]. For if any person thinks himself to be somebody [too important to condescend to shoulder another's load] when he is n.o.body [of superiority except in his own estimation], he deceives and deludes and cheats himself.
Even the best of us fail at times, but it is important to note that the word overtaken doesn't mean a deliberate, intentional sin. It's as if someone is walking down an icy sidewalk, slips, and falls. That's how the Christian life works-nearly everyone slips sometimes.
What then should be our att.i.tude when this happens? We should offer to help, of course. If someone slips on the ice, don't you naturally rush over to help that person get up? We would not ignore a person like that, nor should we ignore the responsibility to help those who have slipped spiritually. One of the biggest ways we can help is to pray instead of gossiping or judging.
The Greek word translated ”restore” (v. 1) was once a medical term used by a surgeon to describe medical procedures like removing a growth from a body or setting a broken arm. The goal is not to see the person punished, but the person healed.
The second point Paul made is, instead of pointing fingers and looking down on someone when we become aware the person has fallen, we should look at ourselves. The devil could have tempted us to do the same thing or something else just as bad, or even worse. We need to look with compa.s.sion on those who fall and remind ourselves, ”Except for the grace of G.o.d, I could be there.”
The third thing is to push away pride in our own achievements. If we think we are more spiritual, we're deceiving ourselves. Proverbs 16:18 gives this warning: ”Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” It is pretty dangerous to say, ”I would never do that!” We need to pray that we will always be strong and faithful, but bragging is a dangerous thing. When we see other people make mistakes we need to ask ourselves, ”What would Jesus do in this situation?” and if we find ourselves in that same situation, then we should respond the way we truly believe He would.
CHAPTER 33.
Suspicious of Suspicion The words about love in 1 Corinthians 13:48 are familiar to most of us, but I can honestly say living them has not always been easy for me. These are the attributes of love: enduring long, being patient and kind, and not being envious, jealous, boastful, vain, or rude. Love doesn't act unbecomingly or insist on its own rights or its own way, for it isn't self-seeking. It isn't touchy or easily provoked; it doesn't take account of the evil done to it or rejoice at injustice. It rejoices in the truth, bears up under everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, has fadeless hopes, and never fails.
As a child, I was not exposed to this kind of love-in fact, I was taught to be suspicious of everyone. I was told the motives of other people were not to be trusted. As I became older, I encountered people whose actions confirmed in my mind that my suspicions were justified. Even as a young Christian, I experienced disappointment because of the obvious motives of some people in the church. While it is wise to be aware of people's motives, we must be careful we don't allow a suspicious nature to negatively affect our feelings about everyone.
An overly suspicious nature can poison your mind and affect your ability to love and accept other people. Consider this example. Suppose a friend approaches you after a church service and says, ”Do you know what Doris thinks about you?” Then this friend tells you every detail of the things Doris said. The first problem is a true friend wouldn't share such information. And the second problem is that with an already suspicious mind, you now believe secondhand information without even giving the accused an opportunity to share their side of the story.
Once your mind has been poisoned against someone, suspicion grows. Satan gains a stronghold in your mind. Every time Doris says something to you, you are automatically suspicious, thinking, What does she really mean? Or if she's nice to you, you think, I wonder what she wants from me.
This is the way Satan works. If he can make you suspicious of others, it isn't long before you don't trust anything they say. And if you've been hurt like this several times, the devil can poison your thinking to the point you start wondering who else may be talking about you behind your back.
Let's continue the example. Suppose that one day in church, Doris is sitting just a few rows in front of you, clapping her hands and praising the Lord. Immediately you think, She's such a hypocrite. Unless you make a decision to believe the best, the devil will keep filling your mind with suspicious thoughts until you are literally tormented not only about Doris but about many others as well.
Our ministry encountered a very hurtful situation once. A man we knew for over twenty-five years and who we considered to be a trusted friend was caught stealing from us. The first thing I thought was, Well, I guess you just cannot trust anybody! Satan used the wound I had to try and poison my att.i.tude toward everyone, but thankfully I knew not to let that negative, suspicious att.i.tude take root in my heart. I actually stopped and prayed, ”Lord, I will not allow myself to be cynical and have a suspicious att.i.tude. Help me deal with this properly and not let it affect my future.”
Unless you make a decision to believe the best, the devil will keep filing your mind with suspicious thoughts until you are literally tormented.
The world is filled with distrust and suspicion, and I encourage you to not ever let yourself be part of that way of thinking. The Bible says love always believes the best of every person!
CHAPTER 34.