Matthew 18:18-20
“Take this most seriously: A
yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you
say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together
on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in
heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together
because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.”
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.
I have grown so weary of what
people are saying to one another these days – particularly on social
media – that I’ve almost quit reading. So if I miss an important post
from one of you, please understand that it was not my intention to
ignore you. I really do care about the ups and downs in my friends’
lives. But when they resort to name-calling and vicious criticisms of
others, I am just not able to support this.
Let’s focus primarily on one particular line of this scripture passage today… “What you say to one another is eternal.”
Jesus could not have been more clear, could He? I’ve seen some pretty
nasty comments lately from people I know and love…and perhaps they were
just engaging in some banter that they felt teetered close to the edge
of ugliness while remaining harmless. I am here to say that it is not
innocuous…because not everyone knows you. Not everyone who reads what
is posted or hears what is said will have the “back story” and know that
this is a teasing exchange between two acquaintances or old friends.
In
the same manner, when we share off-color comments – or make them - we
are demonstrating a level of acceptance of this kind of behavior…and
showing our immaturity in the bargain. We have to be very careful as
Christians to monitor our words and actions. What we say matters! What
we do is important! Jesus has told us…these things have eternal consequences!
I
think we would all pretty well concede that when we pray for someone –
or when two of us agree before God about something, we trust that God
will hear our answer and respond according to His will. When we gather
with a friend or two and speak of God or share in His word – or even
discuss how God has worked in an area of our lives – God is with us, and
He blesses the discussion. What we don’t seem to recognize is that
when we say and do ugly or unkind things…when we “misbehave,” God sees
this, too. And He hangs His head in shame and disgust. Nothing gets by
God!
Maybe you don’t care. Maybe you think that you will say
and do what you please…that Jesus has forgiven your sins, and your seat
at His table in heaven is secure – so the rest doesn’t matter. But I am
here to tell you that it does. Maybe you believe that this person or
the other truly is a jerk or an idiot, and telling the world is your
job! It isn’t! God will handle this situation – and countless others
like it – if only you will give the problem to HIM…then back off and
allow Him room to work!
Let’s pay closer attention to our words
and actions. Let’s be very careful about labels and criticisms and
offering our opinion as “gospel”…because Jesus made it very clear that what we say and do has eternal consequences. In light of this consideration, don’t you want to be more careful? Will this be the day that you get started?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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