You scroll down Facebook and see a photo of another Christian you know and cringe. The clothes they are wearing or rather not wearing is anything but Christlike. The language someone uses, the movies they watch, the things they partake in that we may not agree with is on the brink of our minds and if we are not careful our convictions and feelings can cause us to point a finger. We may not do it outwardly, but inside we somehow think we are holier than they are and we use the line of "we need to pray for them" as an excuse to talk about it with our friends. Nothing is wrong with praying, but how quickly a prayer request can turn into gossip and our convictions can turn into judgments we place upon another. If there is one thing I am sick of in the church, it is the bashing. Instead of lifting up our fellow sisters and brothers in Christ, admonishing them when needed in love, we are taking delight in pointing fingers and coming off with a holier-than-thou attitude. I know, because I have succumbed to the same thing at times. And it sickens me. Christians, this should not be so.
I was reading the book of Romans in my Bible study today and these verses in chapter 14 struck me hard: "10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.11 For it is written:'As I live, says the Lord,Every knee shall bow to Me,And every tongue shall confess to God.'12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way."
How many times do I let my prideful and wicked heart reign over my thoughts where I judge another believer? I hate to admit it, but I have to say it's too many times to count. There are certain things in the Bible that are explicit, clear, and if a fellow Christian is disobeying one of these things we are to go to them in love and point them to Scripture. We don't do this in front of a group of people and we don't mention the person in a group as a prayer request. We pray for them in private between just ourselves and God, and after we have prayed for a while, if the issue isn't resolved, we pull the person aside in private and talk to them in love. Key words: in love. This is not where we bash the other person. They could be ignorant and just not realize what they are doing. Let's face it: we all need guidance from time to time. We are not the ones with the answers, He is. So lovingly point them to the truth found in His Word when needed. Then step back and let God deal with the person. Don't keep hounding them about it. Just pray for them and let God work. I think a lot of times we get in the way of what God is doing in a person's life. We are merely tools that can be used by Him, we are not the main event. He is. Once a tool has done its' job and served its' purpose, it gets put back in the tool box. It is ready to go when it is needed again. A carpenter doesn't keep using the screwdriver after it has screwed all the screws in place. The carpenter puts it back in the tool box and goes on to the next tool. The carpenter gets to choose which tool is right for which job. The tool doesn't get to choose that. Christ is like the carpenter and we are like the tools. We can be used by Him for great and mighty things, but only when we let Him be the one in charge.
So Christians, let's stop the bashing. Let's lift each other up in love and point each other to the truth found in His Word. The world will only know we are His disciples by our love for one another. We need to actually start putting that in action. Let's stop the bashing and start the loving.
