Bad Behavior
But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch
because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil
things he had done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.
–
Luke 3:19-20
We don’t want anyone to point out our sin to us. We
get defensive. We blame them. We’re good at pointing fingers but don’t you dare
say anything about our own behavior.
That extends to others. This political climate we’re
in amazes and distresses me. A common defense is we can’t hold one person
accountable for their sins because of the sins of another person. What’s that
old cliché? Two wrongs don’t make a right. Someone else’s wrong behavior doesn’t
justify your behavior or the behavior of someone you support in the political
arena.
How many times have we heard a child explain their
behavior with “everyone” was doing it? It’s as though going along with the
crowd makes wrong behavior okay. That excuse isn’t limited to kids. Adults do
it too.
Think about the excuses you or others offer up:
Everyone was drinking; Everyone was padding their expense accounts; everyone
was making derogatory comments; everyone was doing whatever they wanted.
Herod was no exception. He was in charge. How dare
John the Baptist – or anyone – question whatever he wanted to do? He wanted his
brother’s wife. It didn’t matter what John said. It didn’t matter what God said.
It didn’t matter what anyone thought or said. It was all about what Herod
wanted.
John the Baptist was brave enough to call him out on
it. John refused to remain silent even though it cost him his life
Do you remain silent when you see wrong doing? We don’t
want to get involved. We judge. It’s not that. We just don’t want to suffer for
it. We’d rather voice our opinions, our judgments, behind someone’s back or as
a political rant, than to actually go face-to-face with someone.
We don’t want to be criticized or condemned for
offering up our “opinions.” A few months ago a friend once again shared and
commented on ugly political views. There’s no truth to the allegations she
shares but she believes it. That’s her choice. But someone else called her out
on it. They were nice but they asked why her comments were so hateful and mean.
They wanted to know why she thought it was okay.
She offered up the standard opinion response. I admired
the woman who challenged her. She is braver than I. Or maybe I know this woman
well enough to know that only Jesus can change her heart. She is a wonderful
Christian woman, with a good heart, who prays and tries to live as Jesus lived.
Until it comes to politics.
But here’s something else I noticed: After the
exchange, she stopped sharing so much ugliness. Oh, every now and then, she’ll
share something hateful but mostly she doesn’t anymore. I hope it’s because the
Holy Spirit convicted her.
It’s not about opinions. Everyone has a right to their
own opinions. It’s about passing on untruths that are mean and bigoted and
justifying bad behavior as your opinion. It’s like Herod believing because he
was the ruler, he could do what he knew was wrong.
When someone starts pointing the finger at someone
else, pause before you chime in. It could just be that the one full of
condemnation is only trying to cover up their own sins.
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