Rebuilding...
Most sports teams have years that get labeled "rebuilding." For some, it's an excuse for not playing well or having a bad coach, for others, it's true. It simply means they are growing their team, making players better, and preparing for the next season. It's not a total write off, but it amounts to essentially the same thing. Each game is seen as a "practice" meaning that it's not about winning or losing, but getting better. As I said, it can be a cover, but it can be real. I've seen it happen many ways, but an easy example is this years Kansas City Chiefs. The past several years were "rebuilding" and "reloading" so they could win (but they still canned Herman Edwards because he didn't rebuild soon enough!), and this year under their second year head coach, they are the lone unbeaten in the NFL. Pretty remarkable if you ask me...
But, what does all that have to do with anything? A lot actually, just in a round about way. In our lives we all face "rebuilding" and "reloading" times. It doesn't mean we're not good enough or anything else, only that we need to make some changes. Unfortunately, a lot of us have to learn the hard way that we're at that point! God knows this, I mean it was David, a "man after God's own heart," who took his friend's wife and then had said friend killed to cover his tracks who then wrote Psalm 51 (it's linked so you can read it, it's a great reminder of where we need to go/do when we're broken)! The issue is, we often take for granted God's mercy and forgiveness, and assume we can rebuild/reload on our own! nothing could be further from the truth, because, like it or not, God called us to live in community. It literally does, "take a village" to see someone become who they are supposed to be.
This community is a hard aspect of life sometimes. People hurt us, people don't support us as we suppose we needed, people talk about us, spill out secrets, or otherwise cause us harm and yet we need them? Definitely. The trick is, how do we develop trusting relationships where we can be open honest and get whacked upside the head sometimes! While honesty is important, I think as a guy, the latter is beyond extremely important. Lots of Scripture has the message of confronting sin and telling someone about their sin. It's not some self-righteous "I'm better than you" thing, but a sharpening thing. Sports teams that are rebuilding want tough competition so they can get better, as Christians, we want tough brothers and sisters who aren't afraid to rough us up a little as they make us better! Is it easy, or fun? NO! Is it worth it? Heck yeah.
Matthew 18 talks about confronting sin, but we also need to take into account Matthew 7, where many misread Jesus' words as "not judging (from the Flamin' James Version: "Judge not, lest ye be judged.")." Instead, coupling the two passages we see Jesus' real intent: we're to keep each other accountable and call each other to the carpet when we're idiots. Notice, WE, not I or you, but WE. But, lets look a bit more closely at the two passages...
1. Jesus tells us to "yank the plank" before we go poking around for sawdust in someone else's eye. This means we need to examine our motives before we condemn someone or go to them to point out their sin! It doesn't mean that they will listen more or be better because of it, it simply goes to the obvious: if we're open and willing to accept rebuke for our screw ups, others will be too.
2. Jesus tells us to go in private to "carefront" our bro/sis. This simply instructs us where to start. Don't go talk to everyone else about someone's hang ups, talk to them! Love is big enough to let someone know when they're screwing up and to do so honestly without some pretense. And it is loving, not hating, when you tell someone their life isn't lining up with what Jesus says as long as you do it from love, not jealousy or envy!
3. Jesus says we MUST confront those who claim to believe. This is a tough nut to swallow, because we like the idea that we can live without conflict and that someone else's sin has no impact on us, but Jesus totally bursts that bubble. 1 Corinthians should make it plain enough, but we tend to not comprehend the full meaning of "being" the body of Christ. I mean, my feet are affected by my mouth/stomach's eating habits, but they didn't do anything to face that problem! The same holds true for us: we may not have any part in someone's sin, but when we don't hold them accountable we're just as involved in their sin as if we did it ourselves...
This is a lot to swallow and think about, so hold onto this and we'll examine some further implications tomorrow...
But, what does all that have to do with anything? A lot actually, just in a round about way. In our lives we all face "rebuilding" and "reloading" times. It doesn't mean we're not good enough or anything else, only that we need to make some changes. Unfortunately, a lot of us have to learn the hard way that we're at that point! God knows this, I mean it was David, a "man after God's own heart," who took his friend's wife and then had said friend killed to cover his tracks who then wrote Psalm 51 (it's linked so you can read it, it's a great reminder of where we need to go/do when we're broken)! The issue is, we often take for granted God's mercy and forgiveness, and assume we can rebuild/reload on our own! nothing could be further from the truth, because, like it or not, God called us to live in community. It literally does, "take a village" to see someone become who they are supposed to be.
This community is a hard aspect of life sometimes. People hurt us, people don't support us as we suppose we needed, people talk about us, spill out secrets, or otherwise cause us harm and yet we need them? Definitely. The trick is, how do we develop trusting relationships where we can be open honest and get whacked upside the head sometimes! While honesty is important, I think as a guy, the latter is beyond extremely important. Lots of Scripture has the message of confronting sin and telling someone about their sin. It's not some self-righteous "I'm better than you" thing, but a sharpening thing. Sports teams that are rebuilding want tough competition so they can get better, as Christians, we want tough brothers and sisters who aren't afraid to rough us up a little as they make us better! Is it easy, or fun? NO! Is it worth it? Heck yeah.
Matthew 18 talks about confronting sin, but we also need to take into account Matthew 7, where many misread Jesus' words as "not judging (from the Flamin' James Version: "Judge not, lest ye be judged.")." Instead, coupling the two passages we see Jesus' real intent: we're to keep each other accountable and call each other to the carpet when we're idiots. Notice, WE, not I or you, but WE. But, lets look a bit more closely at the two passages...
1. Jesus tells us to "yank the plank" before we go poking around for sawdust in someone else's eye. This means we need to examine our motives before we condemn someone or go to them to point out their sin! It doesn't mean that they will listen more or be better because of it, it simply goes to the obvious: if we're open and willing to accept rebuke for our screw ups, others will be too.
2. Jesus tells us to go in private to "carefront" our bro/sis. This simply instructs us where to start. Don't go talk to everyone else about someone's hang ups, talk to them! Love is big enough to let someone know when they're screwing up and to do so honestly without some pretense. And it is loving, not hating, when you tell someone their life isn't lining up with what Jesus says as long as you do it from love, not jealousy or envy!
3. Jesus says we MUST confront those who claim to believe. This is a tough nut to swallow, because we like the idea that we can live without conflict and that someone else's sin has no impact on us, but Jesus totally bursts that bubble. 1 Corinthians should make it plain enough, but we tend to not comprehend the full meaning of "being" the body of Christ. I mean, my feet are affected by my mouth/stomach's eating habits, but they didn't do anything to face that problem! The same holds true for us: we may not have any part in someone's sin, but when we don't hold them accountable we're just as involved in their sin as if we did it ourselves...
This is a lot to swallow and think about, so hold onto this and we'll examine some further implications tomorrow...
Comments
Post a Comment