"Our best attempt to please God is our gift to Him, not a weapon to be used against God’s beloved.
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Most of us have endured, at one time or another, someone offering their assessment of our Christian walk, and I am not talking about a compliment…
Usually the word un-Christ-like, or the phrase, "Not very Christ-like" is involved.
I have thought it before (about another person), but I rebuke it right away, for who am I to decide for God who is living a life pleasing to God, and who is not?
So I strive to be humble before God, to have a contrite heart and recognize my need of constant re-generation to bring about God’s likeness and character in me. I recognize that without Him, I am dead in sin.
But these religious words are useless without actions. How do we know who is sincere and who is going through the motions and trying to look "good" and be "religious"? Is it possible to please religious people and displease God at the same time?
How do we find out?
How about taking a look at the fruit? A tree is known by its fruit.
It is a scriptural concept and it makes sense.
If a declaration has been made about you, you must consider the source and the motive.
Peter J. Daniels, in his book, "Mrs. Phillips, You Were Wrong", tells of how someone with ugly intentions can damage another human, another child beloved of God. (Available for check-out at Guam Homeschool Resource Center.)
In this world, certain people get used to getting away with saying words that damage the psyche of other people. This is typically someone with a petty bit of authority who wants (usually without realizing it) to increase the measure of their authority by making other people feel bad. In Mrs. Phillip’s case, she prophesied failure to the young man, her student. This is often a problem in schools; a teacher who abuses his or her authority.
And it’s possible to encounter this kind of person in other organizations. Unfortunately, we have.
By what authority do they make such a declaration?
Where is the bad fruit that identifies a bad tree? I guess to some people, to whom homogenous-ness is a requirement, any differences are suspect, and variety is "bad fruit".
This is the root of racism, which is still alive and well in certain religious circles. For example, we recently heard of someone who was censured by church people for her mixed-race marriage and subsequent children! In America and in this century!
Maybe we can never see eye to eye with folks who consider it un-Christ-like to have a different style. We consider our relationship with Christ to qualify us (far beyond skin color or language or dress) as the ‘new ethnic’–the People of God!
The big picture people, missionaries who actually go to places and experience the great variety of humanity, would never consider it un-Christ-like to be or look differently than them.
Is it not a sign of haughtiness to even consider oneself to have the authority to judge another’s level of Christ-likeness?
The term ‘self-righteous’ means having the idea that you are in right standing before God by virtue of your own virtue, rather than by God’s constant redeeming grace.
I personally believe that God is very displeased with self-righteousness more than just about anything else. Self-righteousness displaces God from His throne; it makes His most precious gift of no value.
I will be the person who beat his chest in despair instead of the one who thanked God he is not a terrible sinner like the other…
We are all in desperate need of God’s forgiveness, mercy and grace, and we all need it from each other, all the time. Our first reaction to anything–any situation or disagreement–should be to offer grace and patience to anyone in need of it (and we all need it), some more than others. No, wait…we all need it more. Who is in less need of patience and understanding than everybody else? Nobody.
When our initial response, our reflex, our knee-jerk reaction, is to assume the other person has questionable motives or are lacking in intelligence and/or integrity, or we get all offended without thinking it through, then we are putting ourselves above the other person.
Of course that’s human nature. But a redeemed person, a spiritual being who is in-dwelled by the Holy Spirit, should not spurt or blurt worldly words and ideas when faced with a disagreeable person or situation, especially if it is another Christian. The redeemed of the Lord know they are nothing without Him. We know that no matter how hard we try, in God’s eyes there are only a few degrees of difference between the worst sinner and the Christian most dedicated to a life of Christ-likeness.
The gap between our best effort and our worst sin is tiny compared to the gap between God and sinner.
Only God’s richest gift of sacrificial love and grace can bridge that divide. And anyone who thinks their walk or conversation is spot-on is missing it all.
Our best attempt to please God is our gift to Him, not a weapon to be used against God’s other beloved sons and daughters.
Since we all need grace, and we know God gives it freely to those who ask, and since everyone we know needs grace (some more than others), this should be a major part of the test for Christ-likeness–what is our initial reaction to adversity or disagreement. Grace or judgment? James says mercy triumphs over judgment. Could it be that is exactly what he was writing about? Read the passage.
Unfortunately, for those who consider themselves to be the sole repository of God’s goodness and wisdom, the definition of Christ-likeness is…ME! Look at the bulls-eye in the middle of the target. What do you see there? Only those who are perfect, those who God Himself could not offer any suggestions for improvement. Anyone who is missing the mark should be desperately trying to seek God’s guidance and wisdom as well as asking for His constant forgiveness and regeneration, not crowing about how much closer to the bull’s-eye she is than so-and-so over there.
We are all equally desperate, but those who don’t recognize how equal we are in light of God’s perfection will find themselves offering judgment instead of mercy. If someone offers you their assessment of your Christian walk, they are not qualified to give it!
A final note on the damage caused by these careless (or deliberate) crippling remarks: if someone is letting you know they think you are falling short of their expectations of what is Christ-like, and that assessment is based on personal preference rather than a measurable deviation from God’s Word, and you take it seriously, you will become confused when someone offers you legitimate correction.
Accept spiritual correction only from those who truly care about you and to whom you have granted spiritual oversight to, or have a reciprocal accountability arrangement with. Not someone who arbitrarily puts themselves over you. There are times when a caring person is tasked by God to bring some fine-tuning or navigation skills into your life. How will you know the difference if you allow people with impure motives to speak into your life with words of condemnation?
(Example: on a home school discussion forum, Colleen said, "I honestly don’t have time for this." Someone responded that it didn’t sound too Christ-like. Compared to what? Which of those words were the ones Jesus would not approve of or would not say? Or is it honesty and truth that Jesus dislikes? The Jesus I know values truth. Maybe it is a personal preference or style, but then what does Jesus have to do with it? And will she ever listen to that person’s opinion or value their input ever again?)
And be sure you know the difference between condemnation and conviction. Conviction is from God and condemnation is from Satan.
If you or someone you know has been on the receiving end of this kind of judgment, be encouraged! Consider the source and pray for those who abuse you. Forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.
Les & Colleen Smith