"Give 'em a Break!"

Our Tuesday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, Hank:

"Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" Acts 15:10

Why is it that we, as Christians, can sometimes be so judgmental and legalistic? We hear about someone who has been committing a particular sin, and the first thing we want to do is condemn that person. And, sad to say, it is all too often for a sin that we ourselves have committed in our past. We want to hold them to an even higher standard than we are willing to abide by. Is it that we believe we have somehow overcome that particular sin in our lives, and that gives us the right to be self-righteous, and to look down upon others who struggle with that sin? Do we so quickly forget that it is only by God’s grace, and through the power of His Holy Spirit that we have any measure of victory over sin in our own lives? Or is it just easier not to look at the plank in our own eye if we can focus on the speck in someone else’s eye?

We need to approach this situation in a whole different way. We need to understand that not everyone is at the same point in their spiritual walk as we might be. We need to approach the situation with compassion and with concern, not with judgment and criticism. Out of a desire to see our brothers and sisters restored to a right relationship with Christ, we need to pray for them, and give them a break. When I say give them a break, by no means am I saying that we are to condone their sin. But we certainly should be forgiving, as we extend the same grace to them that God has so richly shown to us. So my encouragement to you is to "Give ‘em a break", and I leave you with the words of Paul from Ephesians 4:32, great guidance for us in terms of how we should treat one another: "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."

Love in Jesus,
Hank

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