Daily Devotional for August 27, 2013

Romans 14:19-21
So let’s agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other. Help others with encouraging words; don’t drag them down by finding fault. You’re certainly not going to permit an argument over what is served or not served at supper to wreck God’s work among you, are you? I said it before and I’ll say it again: All food is good, but it can turn bad if you use it badly, if you use it to trip others up and send them sprawling. When you sit down to a meal, your primary concern should not be to feed your own face but to share the life of Jesus. So be sensitive and courteous to the others who are eating. Don’t eat or say or do things that might interfere with the free exchange of 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.
 
“The two best times to keep your mouth shut are when you are swimming and when you are angry.”  This quote appeared a few months ago on the Facebook wall of my friend Mich Magness, who was celebrated and buried in Oklahoma today.  Mich was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor known as Glioblastoma on June 14th and died August 23rd.  He was only 52.  I’ve talked about Mich in previous devotionals, so I won’t repeat the story of how we became friends.  But I have to mention Mich today, because he truly understood these verses in Romans 14.  Mich stood up for what was right… and he spoke out when necessarily.  But Mich was very careful not to judge others… or to criticize or speak in a way that would make the other person feel inferior or unimportant.  And that’s why so many people loved him so dearly.
 
Sunday afternoon, Greg, my mother-in-law Elaine, and I went to see the movie, The Butler.  We found the film to be extraordinarily good.  As my dear friend John Birdsong put it, “I thought it was an amazingly courageous look at an ugly time in America, and even though we have granted racial equality in our country by law, there are many people who never saw what was going on or understood the human toll our racial divide took on real people and real families. I thought the movie told a story that needs to be heard again and again.”
 
John is one of the most fair, honest men I know. He always presents his thoughts in a careful, gentle manner.  Still, he took flak over his movie review… as he has for other comments in the past.  In many cases, Facebook commenters lodge their attacks and ugliness at John himself. At times, it’s gotten very personal.  This happens all the time… not just on Facebook, but all over the place.  Even in church and Sunday school classrooms, people often voice their opinions as if they are straight from the Gospel, giving little consideration to who might take offense.  These people are entitled to their views… but one statement spoken unkindly or with judgment can condemn someone else (even inadvertently) and cause him/her to turn away from God – possibly forever!  In other words, these people may decide that…”If this is how those who serve God feel… and perhaps even how GOD feels… then I don’t want any part of Him!”  And in essence, the “meal around Jesus’ table” is ruined.
 
Again, I am not asking you to compromise your values… or even to sugarcoat the hard teachings of the Bible.  But I am suggesting that you think carefully about what you say and how you act… that you temper your opinions with a hefty dose of grace and mercy – and the love of Christ.  Be gentle.  Make sure that you are acting and speaking in a way that represents Jesus Christ and everything He stands for… compassion, generosity, forgiveness, acceptance, and kindness. Remember our place in the word as Christ’s disciples. We are not the judge and jury… we are His hands and feet – His humble servants.  Nurture others and quietly guide them toward a right relationship with Jesus… don’t hit them over the head with a hammer!
 
For the most part, critical, opinionated Christians are not bad people…they just don’t pause to think about their words and actions and how they might affect others.  I’m asking each of us to take a hard look at our lives and see where we have “spoiled the meal” with our behavior.  Like the quote from Mich’s wall reminds us…let’s learn to keep our mouths shut more often – and not only when we go swimming!
 
©2013 Debbie Robus