What Judgmental Words Say...About You

When we are judgmental of others, we can know we are guilty of the exact attributes we find offensive.  Romans 2:1 says, "Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things."  There is perhaps no better example of this in scripture than Eliab, David's oldest brother.

After David's three oldest brothers went to fight for King Saul, his father Jesse loaded David with food and commanded him to deliver it to the front lines.  Jesse told David to run to the camp where his brothers were and to see how they fared.  David was obedient to do so.  He was shocked when his discussion with his brothers was interrupted by Goliath of Gath who spoke boastfully against God.  He was dismayed when all the men of Israel (his brothers included!) fled from Goliath and refused to challenge him in battle.  Men of Israel quickly filled David in on how King Saul had promised wealth, his daughter in marriage, and tax-free status for their family.  Yet for 40 days, Goliath had come out daily to taunt Israel and reproach the living God.  David asked, "Who is this Philistine, that He should defy the armies of the living God?"

1 Samuel 17:28 states, "Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was aroused against David, and he said, "Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle."  Wow.  To say Eliab was sensitive is an understatement.  His mouth vomited hate.  Eliab questioned David's motive in coming to the battle.  He reminded him of his lowly status as a shepherd, tending a "few sheep in the wilderness."  He accused him of being proud and insolent (bad, wicked).  I love the response of David in 1 Samuel 17:29, for he resisted any urge to defend himself from this verbal barrage:  "And David said, "What have I done now? Is there not a cause?"  Eliab attacked David personally, but this assault only exposed his own wickedness.  He was the proud and wicked one, and he transferred his own faults to David.  His own sin negatively coloured his views of others.

In the previous chapter, David had been anointed by Samuel to be the next king of Israel.  I wonder if Eliab was still envious of the royal treatment extended to David!  If Samuel had his way, he would have anointed Eliab because of his handsome bearing.  1 Samuel 16:6-7 records Samuel's initial impression of Eliab:  "So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, "Surely the LORD'S anointed is before Him." ⁷ But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."  God had refused Eliab as king because of the wickedness in his heart, yet chose to anoint the youngest of Jesse's sons:  David, a humble shepherd, a man after God's own heart.  David was not perfect, but he loved, trusted, and believed God.  Through God he would do mighty feats, and one of the most notable was when he killed the Philistine champion with a sling and stone and won a great victory.

One takeaway from this passage is when a characteristic in someone prompts a negative emotional response in us, instead of criticising or questioning their motives we must first examine our own hearts.  Harsh judgment in us indicates we have sin which must be confessed and forsaken.  Once we repent of our own sin and walk uprightly, then we can see clearly to help others be restored.  Insightful Eliab was proud and afraid, unwilling to meet Goliath in battle.  Sin is a giant only slain by faith in God and humble repentance, and this is a fight to which all children of God are called and by His grace enabled to win.

God Pardons His People

"Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. ¹⁹ He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."

Micah 7:18-19

Have you ever considered how blessed we are the Almighty God is a forgiving One?  We have long memories when it concerns people who have wronged or wounded us.  It seems only death is able to part people from old grudges.  Long after the offender has gone to the grave, hatred and bitterness towards the person can remain.  God could rightly retain His anger forever, for He is eternal and righteous and we are crooked sinners.  But thanks be to God, for He fully pardons those who humble themselves before Him and repent.  To be pardoned is more than being forgiven, for the connection between the offender and the offence is wiped clean.  It is a proclamation of innocence concerning every charge.

Every honest person will admit they have made mistakes during their lives, "mistakes" which the Bible calls sin.  Even as there are natural laws observed in the world, there are spiritual ones.  On earth what goes up eventually comes down, and the soul that sins will surely die.  God, a righteous Judge, is angry with the wicked every day and will also judge the righteous - His people through faith (Psalm 7:11).  When God forgives us through the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we are born again, God fully pardons us from all sin.  He also passes over our transgressions, meaning our past sins are not held against us in our present relationship.  God does not burn with anger, hold a grudge, or throw our failures to obey in our face again as a reason to refuse our request, but chooses not to remember them (Isaiah 43:25).  That is a good example for us to follow as believers.

It is impossible for us to love as God does in our own strength.  We are chronically focused on self:  we aim for self-preservation, keep a record of wrongs, angle to insulate ourselves from future pain by maintaining distance, retain our anger, and justify our sinful refusal to pardon others because we are suspicious they will hurt us again.  God never says faith in people is the basis for us forgiving others, but we forgive because He has forgiven us.  God has never commanded us to trust people, but we must trust and obey Him.  God's nature is to pardon iniquity and pass over transgressions.  He is slow to anger and does not retain it "because He delights in mercy."  He removes the stain of sin far from us and relates to us going forward as if we have only done right.  God has compassion on the ones who sin against Him.  Can you show genuine compassion to the person you are angry with?

1 John 1:9 says concerning Christians who have sinned against God, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  Isn't the grace of God wonderful?  As we have received, so ought we to freely give to others.  Is it in your nature to pardon iniquity and pass over faults?  It is not in my nature!  Yet since God is our Father, we are to be towards others as He is to us:  to delight in mercy and to have compassion on even those who offend.  With God's help let us pardon others and throw our grudges and burning anger into the depths of the sea.

Thoughts About "Silence"

I enjoy movies which prompt meaningful thought.  I found "Silence" directed by Marin Scorsese to be such a film, a story of young Jesuit priests seeking their mentor and the persecution of Christians in Japan in the 17th century (spoilers follow).  The slow pace of the film allows time for contemplation as the events of the film unfold.  Although the Jesuit faith has major doctrinal beliefs which differ from my own, I was impressed by the conviction and commitments made by the Portuguese missionaries as they ventured into a land largely hostile to foreign religion.  The Japanese Inquisitor compared Christianity to "the persistent love of an ugly and barren woman."  Christianity could not flourish in the swamp of Japan, it was said.

In the film, a Japanese Inquisitor tortured Jesuit padres and found it only emboldened their followers.  It was discovered the way to influence padres to cease their proselytising was to make them watch the suffering of the people they taught and loved.  Villagers were made to "trample" on an icon or spit on a crucifix, and if they refused they were made a public example of.  People were hung on crosses to be drowned at high tide, arrested, bound and thrown into the sea, decapitated, or even hung to slowly bleed over a pit.  The main character and priest in the film demanded a challenge of his faith of his captors, yet watching others suffer proved the hardest challenge of all.  Many times his tormentors said of trampling an icon, "It's only a formality."  They promised if he trampled it meant nothing except they would allow fellow adherents (albeit tramplers) to go free.

That line stuck with me long after the Blu-ray was replaced in its case:  "It's only a formality."  Much of the Jesuit practices displayed in the film were strictly that:  formality.  The people secreted and venerated objects as well as priests to perform rituals.  The people fed off the priests, gathering for mass, holy communion, baptism, absolution, and confession.  One thing which was noticeably absent in the movie was the Bible.  Not once do I recall any of the priests or people opening the scriptures and reading from them.  The priests were honoured by the people as God, but the priests proved powerless to deliver the people from their pains and were impotent to overcome their captors.  Giving in to the demands of their captors seemed the only way of salvation, but it proved to be bondage.  I wonder if the torment of openly denying the faith was worse than seeing people suffer for their faith.

What the movie asserts is true, that only God knows the heart.  A denial of a "religion" is not a denial of Christ Himself.  To tread on a religious icon to denounce a sect is not blasphemy, but to deny Christ is.  Jesus said those who seek to save their lives will lose them (Luke 17:33), and those who deny Jesus before men He will deny before the Father (Matthew 10:33).  We also remember Peter on one occasion denied Jesus three times, but was later restored by Jesus.  Peter clearly was repentant for his error, and the rest of his life was marked as a faithful witness and disciple of Jesus Christ.  Relics and icons are nothing in themselves, and God is not disgraced if we trample.  At the same time if we deny Christ to save ourselves or others present pain, we do God no service.  Wasn't Jesus permitted to suffer according to the will of the Father?  Because the servant is not above the master, Peter wrote to followers of Jesus in 1 Peter 4:19, "Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator."

I am blessed to say history is not on the side of the cruel Inquisitor who claimed Christianity could not grow in Japan.  I received an email from a young man a couple years ago who was once an exchange student hosted by our family when we lived in the States who told us he had become a Christian - in Japan!  It seems the efforts of those daring Portuguese padres that seemed useless have been fruitful as they spread the seed of the Gospel.  Even in a land opposed to Christ, the Light of the World has continued to shine.  God has spoken and continues to speak in His still, small voice.  Praise the LORD for His faithfulness and love, and He will justly trample down His enemies. 

God's Choice and Ours

I am not a prophet, but I can identify with what Amos the prophet said concerning his call by God to ministry.  It was never in his plans, and being a pastor was not in my plans either.  As an "untrained" man, this was one way Amos knew it was not selfish ambition or reliance upon his education which caused him to answer God's call.  He wasn't just following in his father's footsteps, having inherited the family business.  He was an ordinary guy who was content with a simple life, and God chose to place him in role which never entered into his mind.  I can relate to this in many ways.

God commanded Amos to say many things, and they were not easy on the ears.  He spoke of the punishment God would bring for the sins of the people.  Amaziah the priest didn't like what Amos was saying, and he didn't like where he was saying it.  He sent word to the king, accusing Amos of treason.  Amaziah told Amos to leave, hinting he had no right or authority to say the things he did in Bethel.  Amos 7:14-15 reads, "Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah: "I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet, but I was a sheepbreeder and a tender of sycamore fruit. ¹⁵ Then the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said to me, 'Go, prophesy to My people Israel.'"  Amos affirmed he had no family background or specialised training in the school of the prophets, but as he went about his business God spoke to him.  It was not his choice, yet he had been ordained by God as a prophet without approval or qualifications from men.  David went from tending his father's sheep to being king over all Israel, and Amos went from breeding sheep and tending sycamore trees to being a messenger of God.  Peter and John were fishermen Jesus called as apostles, and I was a construction worker God called to be a pastor - in Australia!

I'm sure John never thought he would voluntarily leave his father and the family business to follow Jesus and later be a key leader in the church Jesus established.  I believe Amos was content to work and remain as he was.  He had no aspirations of being a prophet.  But as he went about his business and was faithful to God right where he was, God spoke to him, called him out of his trade and into the role of a prophet.  It was nearly an identical situation when God made me aware of His call upon my life as a pastor in His church.  All sorts of thoughts flooded through my head when this was confirmed in His word and by fellow Christians.  What do I do now?  Do I leave my job?  Do I go to seminary?  For me there was the space of about three years between the realisation of the call and an unsolicited door to pastoral ministry clearly opening.  What was impressed upon me then was to keep doing what I was doing, acknowledge and believe God had indeed called me, and in the meantime apply myself to seeking God and learning all I could.  In the end, God did it all.

If you believe God has spoken to you and called you to a particular role in ministry or place in the world, I encourage you to do as Amos did:  he kept on doing what he was doing.  In due time God moved Amos from his flock and groves and moved him to Bethel, placing His words in his mouth.  Amaziah saw Amos as an unqualified, perhaps even a self-absorbed impostor who ought to go away, but Amos had a charge from God he would by His grace fulfil.  You never know what God has called you to or what He will call others to do.  You never know to what end of the earth God will take you as you follow Him.  Today we are called to faithfulness and obedience, and God will take care of us tomorrow.  The God who speaks to us clearly opens doors no one can shut, and shuts doors no one can open (Revelation 3:7).  You never need (nor could you) prove to sceptics you have indeed been called by God, but the important thing to remember He is the One who calls, ordains, and enables us to do anything for Him.  Jesus calls out to everyone, and whilst the nature of our calling may differ, every call of God is equally important to answer in faith and obedience.  We don't have the luxury of deciding God's choices, but our choice is:  will we follow Him?