Ezekiel 7:27 According
to their way I will deal with them; according to their own judgments, I will
judge them. (NRSV)
What a shocking thing it
is to realize that God will judge us just as we judge other people. In a
culture where Facebook is used to air our grievances, provoke arguments, and
battle with our neighbors, what a terrible thing it should be to know that God
will treat us exactly the same way we treat others.
Facebook was meant to be a
great tool of the new enlightened age; instead, it has become a platform to
heighten hostility, spread falsehood, and promote prejudice, especially against
the poor, the needy, the powerless, and the alien – all of whom deserve our
patience, support, and love according to both the Old and New Testaments.
Sadly, there is a
disdainful type of Christianity that is creeping across the internet and
permeating our society through the instant channels of social media. Instead of
being hailed as people of the Book whose compassion and love make people wonder
who are these Christians, we take great delight in nailing each other to our
communication crosses in order to impress like-minded Pharisees and skewer the
opposition. And even after the damage is done, our compassion is gone, and our
self-righteous stinger has made its poisonous impact, we still have this
problem with God: He will judge us by our own standards; He will treat us according
to our own words and ways.
All of this should make us
seriously ponder about those who lead us whether it be religiously,
politically, socially, or even leisurely. If we follow those who are constantly
berating others or belittling them, then we are tarred with the same brush in
God’s eyes. If we choose to excuse bad behavior from those that we should expect
more, then we are in danger of becoming both leaderless and rudderless. And if
we capitulate our ‘Christianity’ for something or someone that is obviously unchristian,
then we are definitely going down the wrong path. As the Apostle John once
wrote of the same kind of deluded Christians in his time:
1 John 2:9 Whoever
says, “I am in the light,” while hating a brother or sister, is still in
the darkness. (NRSV)
And if you think that I’m
excusing myself from this issue, then think again. I have done my fair share of
name-calling, post-trolling, and stone-walling on Facebook, too, so when I read
God’s Word for today, it hit me clearly between the eyes also. Being a Christian
is never easy; being self-righteous always is.
Application: Am I
guilty of disdaining others because they think, act, or look differently from
me? Do I understand that God judges me according to how I judge others? Am I
willing to repent, so I can repair and renew my faith in Christ? Am I really a
Christian?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, we are
not just meant to follow You; we are supposed to witness on Your behalf. We can
ask to be forgiven of our prejudices and pride, but with that gift of forgiveness,
we are meant to change our ways. Teach us the gravity of knowing that God will
treat us exactly as we treat others. Keep us from deluding ourselves or being
misdirected. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.
John Stuart is the pastor
of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Come and join us for
worship at 11:00 AM on Sundays. You will be made very welcome😊
Today’s image is one of
John’s latest drawings called “Lent Maker.” If you would like to view a larger
version, click this link: Lentmaker.
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