[This reflection by Dennis Ginter was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 12/May/2024]
I’ve been thinking about labels – the things we stick on people. The judgments we make about others without bothering to get to really know them. Sometimes it’s just because we’re too lazy to make the effort. Sometimes it’s more serious: we actually self-righteously set ourselves up as judges!
What’s on my mind specifically is our attitude towards people whose ‘lifestyle’ offends us (and I use the word ‘offends’ carefully). Jesus warned us about presuming to point to a speck in someone else’s eye without acknowledging the plank in our own. He looked for the gold in people. Several of my friends are living in what many Christians would call sinful relationships. And it’s not difficult to use scriptural passages to justify taking a condemning attitude towards them.
Sometimes I’ve heard people say that we ought to ‘hate the sin but love the sinner‘. What do you think? Especially when it’s difficult to find Jesus acting that way!
American natives have a saying: ‘Don’t judge another until you’ve walked a mile in their moccasins‘. People leave our churches because they feel judged by people who don’t know them at all. To me, that is very concerning. I think we need to prayerfully examine our attitude and behaviour. Do you agree?
Blessings!
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Last week’s reflection: The Cure for Envy by Helen Ruffhead
Contributed by Dennis Ginter; © Dennis Ginter