Romans 14:1
Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.
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.
This evening we attended a regional basketball tournament at our local high school gym. Our senior high girls team was competing. It never fails… fans on both sides of the court are always unhappy with the referees - and the games tonight were no exception. Every time the refs did something the fans didn’t agree with, someone would jump out of his/her seat – or yell something loud and ugly. At one point, a player fell to the court and appeared to be hurt… and the referee called a foul on one of our team members for stepping on her. A fan behind me stood up and yelled something to the ref about how the girl charged with the foul was “just walking.” I wanted to turn around and say, “Really? If that were your daughter lying on the court, your attitude would be 100% different!”
Granted, there have been all sorts of sporting events where the officiating truly was terrible… toward both sides. But most of the time, the calls all even out - with just about the same percentage of good and bad calls made for each side. There are plenty of times when we fans do not like a call made by a referee… and do we ever tell them! We “hand them our glasses” so they can see what they missed. We yell and scream, boo and stomp our feet. In general, we treat these folks poorly. We never consider that these are husbands, fathers, grandfathers, mothers, sisters, or brothers who live and work among us by day… and call sporting events on the side for a few extra bucks. Referees are not just under-appreciated – they are often truly despised.
I’m afraid this is exactly how we treat many of our fellow believers. We decide before the game ever starts, so to speak, that they are not in our league. They are mistaken because they don’t see everything our way. Or we figure that they must be weak in their faith…because the things they say and do clearly indicate they are not as pure as we are. We fail to consider that not everyone is where we are in their faith walk. Not everyone has gone through the “stuff” we’ve gone through… or been taught and tested like we have. It might just be that the other guy has endured a whole lot more than we have… more than we can ever imagine… and he/she simply handled it differently than we would have. It doesn’t mean they are wrong… or less of a Christian. We fail to recognize that fellow believers are people just like us… with hopes and dreams, insecurities and heartaches, and a deep desire for acceptance - just like us.
At the end of the day, we all need to treat each other more gently. We need to recognize that we are unique individuals… each with our own story… and each incredibly precious to God. His arms are open wide to welcome every single one of us! Shouldn’t our arms and hearts be open, too?
©2013 Debbie Robus
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