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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
Perception does not change reality, but it sure can change me! Where we “come from” religiously can and frequently does have a huge impact on how we react to certain spiritual issues as well as how we treat others who “come from” a different place. Today's message will deal with these facts under the heading of Mercy and not Sacrifice.
I didn't know what it meant to live in a home where God's will was not a daily consideration. On the other hand, I didn't know what a burden was being placed on many professed believers under the guise of, “This is what God requires.” My perspective was my perspective and it shaped my way of thinking (and even more devastating, NOT thinking) about important spiritual matters.
Regarding those who might not have faith in God, it would have previously been very difficult for me to show much mercy toward them. After all, my own upbringing was one in which I never heard an anti-God comment. I am not saying that there were no ungodly acts, but there was never any sentiments that could lead one not to believe in God. Compare this with homes where anti-God sentiments and comments are a 24/7 routine. In such an environment, what chance does a formative youth have of developing an unbiased attitude toward truth and the existence of God? Answer: About the same chance I had of developing an understanding spirit toward those who did not believe as I did!
Regarding those who believed in God but who did not practice what my family practiced, mercy was also in short supply. After all, why couldn't they understand a simple matter like the Lord's Supper being a weekly requirement of God? And to extend that line of reasoning a bit further, wasn't it self evident that should one not be able to take the Lord's Supper on Sunday morning, it was acceptable to take it in a smaller group on Sunday night? Couldn't they see that God's law of exclusion through silence made the use of anything other than a capella music in worship a sinful act to be avoided at all costs? Couldn't they understand that every congregation was intended to have a plurality of elders and when such could not be the case, the business affairs of the congregation were to be administered by a men's business meeting until such time as elders could be appointed? These and scores of other differences in perspective stood between others who professed belief in God and those who “came from” my religious heritage.
Why couldn't they see these simple truths? Well, it could be because none of these truths are explicitly taught in the Bible! If any of the things just mentioned are required by God, they are required in some manner other than a straight forward command. This is not to say that they are not true or that they are not a requirement; it just says that in order for one to reach these conclusions, he/she has to understand that there is more to Bible study than just opening the book and seeing what God explicitly says on any given matter. This was the perspective in which I was reared and it was difficult if not impossible for me to understand how any one could come to any other conclusion! With that perspective, showing mercy toward those who were just lazy or dishonest intellectually was almost out of the question.
Perhaps these admissions reveal more of my character (or lack of it) than I care to admit, but they are nonetheless true. Not that it makes it right or any less injurious, but I know that I was not alone in thinking these kind of thoughts towards others and denying them the benefit of the doubt when it came to religious matters. No, perception did not change reality, but it changed me. Currently, my job one is to remove the plank from my own eye before I attempt to help my brother to see! (Matthew 7.1-5)
Questions:
1. What influence does one's home environment have in shaping a person's view of the world? Of God? Of mercy? Of right and wrong?
2. In the final analysis, who is responsible for the perceptions and perspectives that I have in religious matters (see Matthew 7.5)? To whom was the man told to go for help who had the plank in his eye?
3. Why must my job one ALWAYS be making sure that my vision is unimpaired?
4. Continue your list of New Testament passages that explicitly regulate the form of Christian worship?
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