Tidings

Dear Burke UMC Friend,

Wasn’t sure what to pass along today, so I followed the discipline our ancestors often used to receive a word from the Lord.  I got out my Bible, opened it, let my finger land on a verse, and read. 

I got Proverbs 21:2:  “All deeds are right in the sight of the doer, but the Lord weighs the heart.” 

I wonder how much our taking that to heart would change our conversations!  “All deeds are right in the sight of the doer.” 90% of our arguments with each other are trying to justify the rightness of what we did to someone who doesn’t see it the same way.  It seems like 90% of our political dialogue is the same thing. If we could recognize that that’s what we’re doing and stop there, there would be time and room for some constructive conversation. 

Seeking God’s presence, or understanding God’s will, is sped along when we recognize that our first impulse is often simply a self-serving one. We need to be able to chuckle at ourselves.  Then we need an arbiter with a larger perspective.  

The apostle Paul knew that same hard truth.  He protests the Corinthians’ accusations against him by saying, “I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted.  It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment … before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.”

In our disagreements and arguments, we can watch for how much we’re simply arguing the rightness of our deeds.  How much harder – and more helpful – it is to open ourselves to the honest and humbling light of God. The God who was most vulnerable in the person of Jesus Christ can help us see a higher perspective.  The Spirit of humility in Jesus Christ can help us find the truth that’s larger than our version of reality.

In other words – God doesn’t want us so full of what’s right that we can’t do what’s good.

May the Lord bless and guide your conversations today.

Grace and peace,

Larry