Grace & Mercy

 

Good morning.  It’s Thursday morning !

 Any time the church embarks on something new and different, there will be those who will embrace the new and different, and those who long for the old ways of church life and living.  I suppose it’s inevitable that this kind of thing happens, because whether in church, politics, family life, the work environment, or wherever, there will always be differences of opinion regarding what, how, when, where, or who.  Each one who has an opinion of course believes his or her opinion is the correct one; no one honestly holds an opinion that he knows or believes is wrong.

This kind of behavior is common not only in church life, but in many areas of life and living.  Politics is a prime example, along with business or work decisions, family relationships, and other areas of life.  But it isn’t as simple as just looking at some issue for a few brief moments and making some kind of informed judgment.  Much of the time the issues involved are not nearly as black-and-white as one might believe.  Additionally, most of us who form opinions don’t know enough about the situation to be able to form a truly educated and informed opinion.

We aren’t privy to all of the information.  We aren’t sure whether the information we have is biased or not, or even truthful in some cases.  We allow our own world view to shape and form our opinion, creating our own bias.  We tend to gravitate toward that information and those people who share our world view, thereby reducing or eliminating ideas or thoughts that might be contrary to what we already believe and would open up our thought process.  And sometimes we even develop a sort of self-righteous attitude which invades our thoughts and tends to further polarize the situation and our opinions.  We are indeed fallible individuals.

So, why do I bring up all of this?  Just this.  It’s fine to hold opinions.  It’s fine to express those opinions in a proper way and in the proper venue.  But to allow opinions which in most cases by far are inaccurate or incomplete to become dividing walls is foolish and ignorant.  And for the Christian, such behavior goes against clear Biblical teaching.

Proverbs 18:2 says this:  “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only expressing his opinion.”  Paul, in Romans 14 talks much about differences of opinion.  Here is some selected text from that chapter as Paul talks about some who observe dietary restrictions and others don’t; and some observe certain holidays and others don’t.  The principles in this text are timeless even if the specific examples don’t necessarily apply.

Do not quarrel over opinions.  One person believes he may eat anything, while another eats only vegetables.  Let not the one who eats despise the one who does not, and let not the one who does not eat pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.

One person observes one day as better than another, while another observes all days alike.  Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.  The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord.  The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.  For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.  Why do you pass judgment on your brother?  So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

I readily confess that it is sometimes a herculean challenge to refrain from comments and thoughts that serve to divide rather than unite.  To admit that I am wrong in an opinion I may have held for many years is also a huge hurdle to overcome.  However, I am not infallible.  I am not the end-all and be-all of knowledge.  My world view is a natural and powerful bias.  My life experiences, my environment, my family, education and perceptions of things color how I form opinions.

In political circles, the Democrats aren’t perfect.  Neither are the Republicans, the Socialists, the Libertarians, the Progressives, or anyone else.  And all political activity operates in accordance with its own agenda.

In Christian circles, I am not the final and perfect arbitor & interpreter of holy scripture.  I certainly don’t know it all.  I am just like everyone else…my need for grace and mercy from the Living God is mandatory to my well-being.  And as I receive grace and mercy, so I am to give grace and mercy to others.  As I forgive others, I will myself be forgiven.

May God help us to find grace and mercy in these troubled times.  Blessings.