I recently had a situation that made me pretty mad (and it takes a LOT to make me mad). My opinion: It wasn't fair. People got away with something that could have been easily handled if another person had been willing to step up and say something. I immediately thought of Edmund Burke's "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing" quote. Why can't people just do what is right? I'm talking about basic, societally-accepted behavior. Seriously people, just tell the truth, don't make stuff up to cover a mistake you made, and act like an adult. To make matters worse, my hands were tied in this particular situation, and there was virtually nothing I could do. Oh man, it made my blood boil. I went right to Scripture with the intention of justifying my "righteous indignation." But I paused for a moment and took the time to evaluate my intentions. I felt wronged, and wanted to use the Bible to confirm that my "wrongers" were truly in error, and I had every right to fight for truth. I listened to what I was saying and laughed at my immaturity. Okay, reality check. Stuff happens, and if I were to be honest, I'd have to admit that I've been blessed to not have as much go wrong as I actually deserve.
So, after I gave myself time to simmer down, I went back to the Word to see how I should handle situations like this. Specifically, when someone spreads a lie about you, and you personally can't speak the truth without causing MORE of an uproar, what is a Christian to do?
Truth is so important. Jesus said "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me" (John 14:6). God Almighty leads us in truth, and His Truth prevails: "Make me known Thy ways, O Lord; teach me Thy paths. Lead me in Thy truth and teach me, for Thou art the God of my salvation; for Thee I wait all the day" (Psalm 25:4-5), "All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies" (Psalm 25:10), "Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding. Far be it from God to do wickedness, and from the Almighty to do wrong...Surely God will not act wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice" (Job 34:10, 12). The Bible is replete with verses about truth, justice, and the pursuit of such things. So naturally, as a Christian, I should be concerned with the spread of untruths, correct? Of course! But it's how I respond that is the issue.
My situation: I was accused, I couldn't defend myself, someone else had the opportunity to speak up and didn't, and evil wins. Or not...
I immediately thought of Christ's example of perfect submission in John 18. Suddenly, my situation felt trite. Here is Jesus Himself, Who possessed (and possesses!) all power over heaven and earth, stripped of his dignity and reviled before men, abandoned by his closest friends, and accused of crimes he did not commit. If I were in His place, with His power, I in my humanness would have called down fire from Heaven to consume the high priests and taken care of them right then and there. But no, God in His mercy had a greater plan for mankind, and Jesus suffered unimaginably to bring to me the promise of eternal life with Him. Because of His sacrifice, I can know God. I have His Word at my fingertips, and direct communication with the Almighty because I am covered with the blood of Christ. Think about that for a moment. That should do something to you. Do you even know all the He's done for you? I recently heard something that changed how I think about the crucifixion. Jesus' sacrifice wasn't notable because He died on a cross. Yes, crucifixion was brutal and excruciating (the word itself was created to describe the pain "of the cross" since there was previously no word to describe the experience), but thousands of people were crucified by the Romans. Crucifixion wasn't the sacrifice. His taking on the sins of the world was the true sacrifice. Beginning what that means will completely change how you understand Christ and the meaning of grace. And that will be a subject for another post on another day.
So back to my situation.
I can't be surprised when people say things about me that aren't true. After all, suffering, tribulation, testing, persecution are all hallmarks of discipleship. But I can rest on the confidence that my character is established and my conscience is clear before God, and anyone who wants to know the truth of the matter can seek it for themselves. And I feel sorry, not for myself, but for the person who started this all. I don't know why they did what they did, but I hope that they can get a handle on whatever is going on within them.
Me, I'm happy to have grown a little bit more, learned a little bit more, and taken another little baby step on the narrow way. I feel like I've wasted so much time regressing that any progress at all is amazing to see!
May the Lord bless you on your journey as well.
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).
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