We live in a society that highly values independence. No one has the right to tell me how to think or what to do. Even parents believe they cannot teach their children what is right or wrong because that is a matter of opinion. No one else needs to know how much money I make in a year or how I spend it. No one else has the right to tell me what to do unless I am employed by them, and then only in regards to what they are paying me to do. We are taught to look at how something will benefit ourselves before determining its value to us. Marketing begins with asking the question, “What’s in it for me?” We spend more and more money on vacations, entertainment, and fine dining and feel justified in doing it. I earned the money and I can spend it as I wish.
As I listen in on Jesus’ teaching to his disciples, I hear something different. “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.” Luke 17:1-4
I wonder… what right do I have to tell someone else they have sinned when I myself am not perfect? What responsibility do I have to tell someone else they have sinned when I see what they are doing? In the church today, we see people arguing over whether something is a sin. What one person sees as sin, another may see as acceptable behavior. Denominations and churches are splitting over these issues. How do I determine whether or not I should confront it?
We quote scripture saying that we don’t have a right to judge others because we are not perfect. “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?” Matthew 7:2-4 I don’t think that Jesus is saying to not help the brother remove the speck. Rather, that I need to pay attention to the sins in my own life and deal with them first.
I hear Jesus saying that sin is a fact of life. It’s going to happen all around us. I don’t want to be responsible for leading someone else into sin. One way to keep from finding myself in that place is allowing others in my community of faith to hold me accountable, to confront sin in my life. There is a give and take in accountability. Unfortunately, what I see too often is that the confronted person becomes ‘offended’ and leaves the church or walks away from a friendship. Two things need to happen in the process of confrontation. The confronter needs to be humble in their approach, not harshly judging the other person. And the confronted needs to be humble in their approach, willing to hear what the other has to say and at least consider it. Our human nature is not to be humble, but rather to be right, to be respected, to be strong and powerful, to have authority over others.
Another thing that I see happening is that too often we go to confront the sin without first spending time with God, letting him speak into our heart, our mind, and our attitude. The disciples realize that it is a big responsibility to determine what sin is and confront it. So they ask Jesus, “Increase our faith!” to which Jesus responds, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” Luke 17:5-6 That’s pretty much power. I’m not sure I even have a mustard seed of faith. I believe God can throw the tree into the sea. I’m not so sure my faith will move it there.
But I’m not so sure that is the point – moving the tree to the sea. Rather, I believe Jesus is saying that we can overcome huge obstacles in our lives with even a little faith. But faith needs to be present.
Jesus then goes on to talk about a servant who comes in from the field and is expected to prepare a meal for his master and to do it all because it is expected, not so he will be praised or receive thanks. (Luke 17:7-10) I wonder if Jesus is using this story to point out the fact that humbleness is an important part of rebuking. We are all servants of God and if we have an attitude of humbleness before God, our words will be carefully chosen to make sure our fellow servants know we love them and it is because we love them that we will take the time to rebuke the sin in their lives so they can be free from it. We are not rebuking them to make ourselves look better or to put them in their place, but rather, recognizing that we too fall short of the mark at times we are helping each other to grow in our faith and become better servants of the Lord.
All of this is so counter to our culture. I pray the Lord will give me wisdom as I interact with other believers and co-laborers in ministry. I pray first that I will remain his faithful and humble servant and will be open to dealing with sins in my life as they are pointed out to me by the holy spirit and by others, and then that he will give me a love so deep for my fellow believers that I will want to see them freed from sins in their lives and be willing to be a part of that process. I pray also that we will all grow in our faith as we continue on this journey in a world where sin abounds because we also know that grace abounds even more.
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