June 27, 2023

 

Focus On Jesus

 

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. – James 3:1

 

I respected him. He seemed called by God and someone who would always follow Jesus. Then he stumbled and became the human he always was. It was I who had placed him on an impossible pedestal.

 

Perhaps the truth is that he hadn’t changed. I just didn’t want to see him as he is and chose to view him as I desperately wanted him to be. Isn’t that how it works with our religious leaders? We need them to live righteous lives of truth and integrity. And when they don’t, it’s as though we ourselves have stumbled.

 

Recent months have been filled with disappointment. A pastor who vowed to remain United Methodist suddenly changing course and taking the big payday and, in his mind, the guaranteed job. The pastor who said he supported one thing and yet took the easy road of job security. The church leader who lied to sway votes. The council president who used political talking points to whip those who never check facts into a frenzy. And those who said none of it really mattered.

 

Hatred and failure to love everyone equally is alive and well in God’s church. We’re so busy using the Bible as a weapon that we neglect Jesus’ words about love. We’re so focused on winning the day that we ignore Paul’s warning not to cause conflict within the body of Christ.

 

James tells us that those of us who lead and teach in the church will be held to a higher standard. I understand why. We should know better. We should be well acquainted with God’s Words so that we don’t sin in our own words and actions. We don’t get a pass caused by ignorance.

 

I condemn myself for judging what’s not mine to judge. God will repay because He alone knows the heart. Selfish ambition and greed are sins. His wrath is bound to come. My heart cries for mercy, for conviction, for outward change of behavior. I don’t want people I once cared for to suffer greatly. I am thankful that God handles all of that – for them and for me.

 

My heart still struggles to grasp what I have witnessed. Some moments in time are directors for where we have been and where our course now heads. We are different. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe it’s a warning for us all.

 

Be very careful of those who appear on a higher religious plane. Everyone stumbles. Stay focused on Jesus, who alone is perfect. He will never lie, never stumble, never cast His church aside for a bigger payday or a more powerful position. Hold tightly to Him. Worship Him. All praise and glory to Jesus Christ, our Lord!