Romans 2:21-24
But how can you teach others when
you refuse to learn? You preach that it is wrong to steal. But do you
steal? You say people should be faithful in marriage. But are you
faithful? You hate idols, yet you rob their temples. You take pride in
the Law, but you disobey the Law and bring shame to God. It is just as
the Scriptures tell us, “You have made foreigners say insulting things
about God.”
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Thirty
years ago, in another city, I was treated by a wonderful gynecologist
who probably saved my life. But here’s the thing…he weighed 300+ pounds
if he weighed an ounce…and he was a chain smoker. When he would visit
with me in his office, he kept one of those little air purifier machines
running beside a massive ash tray that always held a smoldering
cigarette from which he would take a long drag between sentences. During
a visit to the hospital room of a friend of mine (who was also his
patient), he once sat in a chair and got stuck…and when he stood, the
chair came up with him. You can’t make up this stuff! This man was a
physician…a person responsible for the health and well-being of
others…and he was probably one of the unhealthiest men that I ever met!
At
the time I was under this doctor’s care, I did not have a weight
problem, so there was no need for him to counsel me about dieting. I’ve
never smoked, so he certainly wasn’t about to advise me on the perils
of tobacco products. But I was a runner…and his comment –
delivered with a shake of the head – was…”Today’s runners are tomorrow’s
arthritics!” I shook MY head and laughed at the obese man behind a
curtain of smoke who was delivering this sage wisdom to my 20-something
self. It turns out…he was probably right…and I have the sore knees to
prove it!
But let’s be clear…whether someone speaks the truth or
not, it’s hard to believe the words of an obese chain smoker with regard
to matters of physical health! The only thing that I can think of that
would have made this more ridiculous is if he had been a doctor of
family medicine – or worse yet, a pulmonologist or a surgeon who
specialized in weight-loss surgeries! How would his patients every
trust anything he told them?
And yet, we all do these sort of things every day. We tell people what they want to hear, whether we
believe it or not. We operate in “do-as-I-say-not-as-I do” mode and
expect others to buy into our act. We offer others advice that we won’t
take for ourselves! We hide behind our Bibles and claim the name of
Jesus…then act like fools who have never even heard of Him!
It’s
time to once again ask the proverbial question…are you making a point –
or making a difference? Are you living your faith…demonstrating the
teachings of Jesus…loving others in His name…treating them as you would
want to be treated – or better…reaching out to others with kindness,
compassion, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and empathy? Are you living in
such a way that others say, “I want the kind of relationship with Jesus
that he/she has”…or are you part of the reason that someone says that
Christianity is not for him/her?
When others look at you, who –
and what – do they see? Are you the real deal…or one who talks big but
does little to nothing to back it up? Are you the equivalent of a
“300+-pound chain-smoking doctor” trying to tell others how to live in
order to enjoy good health? Do you see the irony in this? Will this be
the day that you “come clean” and start to be the “real deal” in your
Christian discipleship and witness? Don’t you think it should be?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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