2 Corinthians 10:7 Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ’s, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ’s, even so are we Christ’s.
Ah Friends, we’ve been generously granted another day of life through the unending mercy of our God. Let us all therefore take a moment to thank Him and praise His Holy Name for His considerable goodness to us. And having done that, let’s return to the joyless reality of the situation; it’s winter once again, cold and windy. (smile) Our spring break of the weekend appears to be over. Time to exit the virtual realm that confuses our minds and face the real hard, cold reality of life in the Northern climes. This brings us to Bruh Paul’s question in the Bit. ‘Do ye look on things after the outward appearance?’ Oh Friends, it’s indeed a legitimate but very contentious question. It’s so contentious that it brokers trouble and disputes throughout the whole world, but nowhere as scathing and worrisome as within the Christian community. Now, as in every situation, the first thing we need to do is consider Jesus’ stand on the situation, and on this particular topic He’s very clear. ‘Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgement.’ (John 7:24) That’s a cut and dried statement that brooks no argument or discussion. Jesus says we should not judge solely by appearances and as believers that’s how we ought to live. Unfortunately though, the mostly ungodly, evil world around us tends to judge quite a lot by outward appearances, whereby many profit undeservedly, while others suffer without just cause. That reminds me of a conversation I had in a grocery store two weeks ago. I went there to buy something that I knew I had enough money to purchase. But as always happens, we go for one thing and pick up several. So while waiting for the cashier to ring up the items, I idly wondered whether I had enough cash on me to pay for the extra things I’d picked up. I don’t remember how the gentleman next in line got into the conversation, but without knowing me from Adam, he suddenly exclaimed that I looked rich. Hn, hn! I laughed and told him he was wrong. If I were rich I wouldn’t be doing my own shopping in the first place, neither doing it in a discount store. But Friends, for some unknown reason, that’s been the bane of my existence wherever I go. Even in Tobago when I was growing up, people always felt that I had money. That probably stemmed from my father and his family appearing to have money. But everywhere else I’ve been, it’s the same; people always seem to think I have oodles of money. At times it amuses me, but at others I steups and shake my head because on some of those occasions, I’ve known for a fact that the people making the remarks had more dinero, or won’t as deep in debt as me. That’s a perfect example of people judging by our appearance, though I don’t know why people think I’m wealthy since I sure don’t dress or behave to give that impression. Chuh! It must be some aura or something that I give off that I’m not aware of. I’m sure all of you have experienced judgement by appearance, either through the way you dress, walk and talk, or behave in general. Our skin complexion, hair texture and accents also cause these external judgements. At one time here in Canada, every black person was asked if they were Jamaican because the white populace was only familiar with Jamaica and it’s culture. The same thing happened with crime; once a black person committed it, the Jamaican community was blamed. It still happens to a certain extent, but people now know about more of the other West Indian islands and their varied culture. Those examples pertain to life in general, but since people take their baggage wherever they go, it’s not unusual to find the same problems in the Corinthian church of Bruh Paul’s time, and sadly, even more in ours. It’s so prevalent that I don’t know where to begin. But let’s start with the macro approach; the differences between denominations. Each denomination has a somewhat different approach to worship. However, since all of us believe that ours is the best and only worthwhile religion or denomination, we summarily judge, look askance at others who worship differently to us, merely by what they do or how they behave. Those who believe in the old hell fire and damnation sermons think the evangelicals, or those who preach on a positive, heaven based philosophy are light and not the real thing. The same happens with those to whom doctrine is everything, as opposed to those who don’t consider it the end all and be all. The sad fact is that each person thinks theirs is the right one, many times demeaning others without even knowing how or why they worship the way they do. Therein lies very fertile ground for much dissension amongst Christians. I thought Jesus said there were only two basic commandments: LOVE your God and LOVE your neighbour. But men, just like the hypocritical Pharisees in Jesus’ day, have made their own rules and regulations, customs and doctrines for their benefit, and instead of simply following God, we follow man’s dictates. Oh Friends, with all the unnecessary friction between denominations and within them, many times over trivial, selfish matters, how can we expect Christ’s church to advance eh? The infighting turns off both believers and non-believers, then we end up pilfering members from other churches, so the overall numbers aren’t really increasing, they’re just being recycled from one church to another. In other words we’re not doing as Jesus commanded or desires. And that’s truly sad. Anyway Friends, think on these things and we’ll continue the discussion tomorrow, God willing of course. Till then, Much LOVE!…the Church is one foundation…built on Jesus Christ alone…
Ah Friends, we’ve been generously granted another day of life through the unending mercy of our God. Let us all therefore take a moment to thank Him and praise His Holy Name for His considerable goodness to us. And having done that, let’s return to the joyless reality of the situation; it’s winter once again, cold and windy. (smile) Our spring break of the weekend appears to be over. Time to exit the virtual realm that confuses our minds and face the real hard, cold reality of life in the Northern climes. This brings us to Bruh Paul’s question in the Bit. ‘Do ye look on things after the outward appearance?’ Oh Friends, it’s indeed a legitimate but very contentious question. It’s so contentious that it brokers trouble and disputes throughout the whole world, but nowhere as scathing and worrisome as within the Christian community. Now, as in every situation, the first thing we need to do is consider Jesus’ stand on the situation, and on this particular topic He’s very clear. ‘Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgement.’ (John 7:24) That’s a cut and dried statement that brooks no argument or discussion. Jesus says we should not judge solely by appearances and as believers that’s how we ought to live. Unfortunately though, the mostly ungodly, evil world around us tends to judge quite a lot by outward appearances, whereby many profit undeservedly, while others suffer without just cause. That reminds me of a conversation I had in a grocery store two weeks ago. I went there to buy something that I knew I had enough money to purchase. But as always happens, we go for one thing and pick up several. So while waiting for the cashier to ring up the items, I idly wondered whether I had enough cash on me to pay for the extra things I’d picked up. I don’t remember how the gentleman next in line got into the conversation, but without knowing me from Adam, he suddenly exclaimed that I looked rich. Hn, hn! I laughed and told him he was wrong. If I were rich I wouldn’t be doing my own shopping in the first place, neither doing it in a discount store. But Friends, for some unknown reason, that’s been the bane of my existence wherever I go. Even in Tobago when I was growing up, people always felt that I had money. That probably stemmed from my father and his family appearing to have money. But everywhere else I’ve been, it’s the same; people always seem to think I have oodles of money. At times it amuses me, but at others I steups and shake my head because on some of those occasions, I’ve known for a fact that the people making the remarks had more dinero, or won’t as deep in debt as me. That’s a perfect example of people judging by our appearance, though I don’t know why people think I’m wealthy since I sure don’t dress or behave to give that impression. Chuh! It must be some aura or something that I give off that I’m not aware of. I’m sure all of you have experienced judgement by appearance, either through the way you dress, walk and talk, or behave in general. Our skin complexion, hair texture and accents also cause these external judgements. At one time here in Canada, every black person was asked if they were Jamaican because the white populace was only familiar with Jamaica and it’s culture. The same thing happened with crime; once a black person committed it, the Jamaican community was blamed. It still happens to a certain extent, but people now know about more of the other West Indian islands and their varied culture. Those examples pertain to life in general, but since people take their baggage wherever they go, it’s not unusual to find the same problems in the Corinthian church of Bruh Paul’s time, and sadly, even more in ours. It’s so prevalent that I don’t know where to begin. But let’s start with the macro approach; the differences between denominations. Each denomination has a somewhat different approach to worship. However, since all of us believe that ours is the best and only worthwhile religion or denomination, we summarily judge, look askance at others who worship differently to us, merely by what they do or how they behave. Those who believe in the old hell fire and damnation sermons think the evangelicals, or those who preach on a positive, heaven based philosophy are light and not the real thing. The same happens with those to whom doctrine is everything, as opposed to those who don’t consider it the end all and be all. The sad fact is that each person thinks theirs is the right one, many times demeaning others without even knowing how or why they worship the way they do. Therein lies very fertile ground for much dissension amongst Christians. I thought Jesus said there were only two basic commandments: LOVE your God and LOVE your neighbour. But men, just like the hypocritical Pharisees in Jesus’ day, have made their own rules and regulations, customs and doctrines for their benefit, and instead of simply following God, we follow man’s dictates. Oh Friends, with all the unnecessary friction between denominations and within them, many times over trivial, selfish matters, how can we expect Christ’s church to advance eh? The infighting turns off both believers and non-believers, then we end up pilfering members from other churches, so the overall numbers aren’t really increasing, they’re just being recycled from one church to another. In other words we’re not doing as Jesus commanded or desires. And that’s truly sad. Anyway Friends, think on these things and we’ll continue the discussion tomorrow, God willing of course. Till then, Much LOVE!…the Church is one foundation…built on Jesus Christ alone…
SCRIP-BITS 