June 24 ~ Matthew 18:15-17
“If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you’ve made a friend. If he won’t listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won’t listen, tell the church. If he won’t listen to the church, you’ll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God’s forgiving love.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Have you ever gotten something new that required some assembly, and rather than follow the directions, you just plowed right in and tried to do it yourself? How many times did you have to “back-pedal” and read the directions? There are times when following the proper order of things makes all the difference!
In our Spiritual life, there is an “order” also…and Jesus spells it out in this scripture passage. When we have a “beef” with someone – or this person or another has hurt us or insulted us in some way - we tend to run all over the countryside telling everyone who will listen and cluck their tongue in commiseration. Or, we hope that by telling someone else, he/she will do the work for us and confront this person.
In truth, the best – and often easiest – solution is to talk to the offender directly. If that does not resolve the conflict, then we can enlist “backup.” And ultimately, if a resolution cannot be reached, you may have to “part company.” I can recall times in my own life where I followed this “plan” – and times when I did not. And I can attest that doing things as Jesus directed is the best way.
There will be times that this method does not result in the outcome for which you hoped. Sometimes, people do not want to change or admit that their way is not the only way…and sometimes, they are unwilling to apologize for hurtful words and actions. But if you offer someone an opportunity to resolve things between the two of you, at least you will be able to say, “I tried. I did things in the manner – and order – that Jesus commanded.” And this brings satisfaction – to yourself…and to Jesus.
Let’s be honest…the one place where we should be especially careful to follow the directions is where Jesus is the one giving them! He has given us a specific outline for how to handle conflict in these verses. Don’t you think we owe it to Him to pay attention?
©2016 Debbie Robus
“If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you’ve made a friend. If he won’t listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won’t listen, tell the church. If he won’t listen to the church, you’ll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God’s forgiving love.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Have you ever gotten something new that required some assembly, and rather than follow the directions, you just plowed right in and tried to do it yourself? How many times did you have to “back-pedal” and read the directions? There are times when following the proper order of things makes all the difference!
In our Spiritual life, there is an “order” also…and Jesus spells it out in this scripture passage. When we have a “beef” with someone – or this person or another has hurt us or insulted us in some way - we tend to run all over the countryside telling everyone who will listen and cluck their tongue in commiseration. Or, we hope that by telling someone else, he/she will do the work for us and confront this person.
In truth, the best – and often easiest – solution is to talk to the offender directly. If that does not resolve the conflict, then we can enlist “backup.” And ultimately, if a resolution cannot be reached, you may have to “part company.” I can recall times in my own life where I followed this “plan” – and times when I did not. And I can attest that doing things as Jesus directed is the best way.
There will be times that this method does not result in the outcome for which you hoped. Sometimes, people do not want to change or admit that their way is not the only way…and sometimes, they are unwilling to apologize for hurtful words and actions. But if you offer someone an opportunity to resolve things between the two of you, at least you will be able to say, “I tried. I did things in the manner – and order – that Jesus commanded.” And this brings satisfaction – to yourself…and to Jesus.
Let’s be honest…the one place where we should be especially careful to follow the directions is where Jesus is the one giving them! He has given us a specific outline for how to handle conflict in these verses. Don’t you think we owe it to Him to pay attention?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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