Today we welcome a new senior pastor to our church. She is intelligent, spiritual, rather traditional and delivered a meaty sermon in an able manner. I'm hopeful this is the beginning of good things.
But being wholly human, I was a little uncomfortable as she used more traditional language than our most recent senior pastor...and I was not comfortable with his more modern language when we first began attending here two years ago!
So fickle are we as we flit from one preference to another with the passion of a Kardashian shopping for wedding dresses, never asking ourselves if any of it is all that important. Oh, I admit that OUR answers to important questions can be very important, but other peoples, not so much. By that I mean we have a responsibility to consider seriously our own values and life-choices and weigh how our actions affect others, but generally when we spend much time on OTHER FOLKS' decisions it is a way of ignoring our own flaws and our own need to change perspective or priority.
By this I mean that we need to have our more persistent focus on our own relationship with God and clearing away debris so that we have more room for the abundant blessings God promises us: love, joy, peace, healing, purpose, forgiveness and so many other blessings. When we focus on the journey, especially the flaws or short-comings of another we generally only irritate them, retarding their journey. We are not in charge of them if they are adults or even near adults or should-be adults.
That is clearly why Jesus is recorded as giving us this caution in Matthew 7:3-5
“Why do you notice the small piece of dust that is in your friend’s eye, but you don’t notice the big piece of wood that is in your own? Why do you say to your friend, ‘Let me take that piece of dust out of your eye’? Look at yourself first! You still have that big piece of wood in your own eye. You are a hypocrite! First, take the wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to get the dust out of your friend’s eye."
Oh Lord, let me be clear about my own opportunities to grow closer to You and quash my purient interest in the challenges of my family, friends, neighbors, church family, community and the larger community except where there is a clear and present need to intervene to prevent great harm. Thank you that You are wholly available to all those I love without me in any way getting between You and them. AMEN
But being wholly human, I was a little uncomfortable as she used more traditional language than our most recent senior pastor...and I was not comfortable with his more modern language when we first began attending here two years ago!
So fickle are we as we flit from one preference to another with the passion of a Kardashian shopping for wedding dresses, never asking ourselves if any of it is all that important. Oh, I admit that OUR answers to important questions can be very important, but other peoples, not so much. By that I mean we have a responsibility to consider seriously our own values and life-choices and weigh how our actions affect others, but generally when we spend much time on OTHER FOLKS' decisions it is a way of ignoring our own flaws and our own need to change perspective or priority.
By this I mean that we need to have our more persistent focus on our own relationship with God and clearing away debris so that we have more room for the abundant blessings God promises us: love, joy, peace, healing, purpose, forgiveness and so many other blessings. When we focus on the journey, especially the flaws or short-comings of another we generally only irritate them, retarding their journey. We are not in charge of them if they are adults or even near adults or should-be adults.
That is clearly why Jesus is recorded as giving us this caution in Matthew 7:3-5
“Why do you notice the small piece of dust that is in your friend’s eye, but you don’t notice the big piece of wood that is in your own? Why do you say to your friend, ‘Let me take that piece of dust out of your eye’? Look at yourself first! You still have that big piece of wood in your own eye. You are a hypocrite! First, take the wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to get the dust out of your friend’s eye."
Oh Lord, let me be clear about my own opportunities to grow closer to You and quash my purient interest in the challenges of my family, friends, neighbors, church family, community and the larger community except where there is a clear and present need to intervene to prevent great harm. Thank you that You are wholly available to all those I love without me in any way getting between You and them. AMEN
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