Be careful lest you fall

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! I Corinthians 10: 12

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7: 1 – 2

We know it takes only ‘faith as small as a mustard seed and you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move (Matthew 17: 20) but the converse is also true. It can take one tiny seed of criticism, judgment, doubt and unbelief to grow into something very unhealthy.

We know from our recent time in South Africa what a terrible and destructive fire can come from one small spark.  James tells us that ‘a great forest can be set on fire by a small spark and the tongue is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body’ (James 3:  5 – 6).

I have been dismayed recently by how one small negative remark about another person can grow into a feeling of deep distrust and suspicion about that person based on nothing more than another's idle remark.

Even worse I found out how quickly I can slip into terrible criticism and judgment of others based on what I have read in the media or seen on television. It feels so justifiable when leaders are corrupt and hypocritical or worse when the body of Christ starts taking large chunks out of one another, to feel angry and self-righteous.

However I quickly came to realise I was standing right on the edge of a slippery slope only a small step away from falling right over. Fortunately God reminded me from reading Steve Backlund’s book Igniting Faith in 40 days that ‘criticism and condemnation will actually decrease personal and corporate faith.’ Chastened I backed down from my anger and self-righteousness and extended the grace I like to receive but find hard to give.

So what do we do when faced by sin and shortcomings in those who we feel should know and behave better? Pray. Pray for them that God would open their eyes, not because we are right and they are wrong but because if they are sinning then they are damaging themselves as well as the church or nation.

We must forgive especially if it is personal and then hand the people to God for his righteous workings in their lives. Finally we must bless them. This moves us from the low ground of hatred and anger, judgment and criticism to the higher ground of grace. It sets us free and moves us away from the edge of self-righteousness which leads down the slippery slope to hypocrisy.

Jesus is our perfect example. Nailed to the cross, crucified as a common criminal yet having done nothing wrong, having spent an exemplary life of doing good to others he forgave those who were wronging him. Jesus life was a life of love and grace. He said ‘For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world’ John 12: 47.

Next time the small seed of criticism and judgement gets sown in your heart whether by yourself or others, weed it out quickly. Set yourself free.  Let’s live the life of love and grace that Jesus won for us on the cross.

A Sabbath rest

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. Genesis 2: 2 – 3

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20: 8 – 11

It is very interesting how much attitudes towards Sunday have changed.  Fifty or more years ago in Britain, Sunday was a very quiet day with some Christians not permitting their families to go out or do anything including watching what little television there was, going to the cinema or even reading books.

Attitudes loosened in all areas of society during the sixties and gradually the matter of Sunday trading became more and more prominent in the UK. This led to various battles between government and big stores. In 1994 everything came to a head between mainly the big supermarkets and the Keep Sunday Special campaign. Finally a law was passed enabling big stores to open for six hours on a Sunday and smaller convenience stores opening for much longer. One interesting little addendum is that big stores cannot open at all on Easter Sunday.

This was definitely the opening of Pandora’s box as far as Sunday being a day of rest is concerned. Sunday is now another shopping day and life in Britain has fundamentally shifted. Now it is not just shops open all week but builders and others working every day. Instead of having a day a week to rest and spend time with family and friends, Sunday has become a day to catch up on the chores and do the weekly shopping.

The question is: should this matter to us as Christians?  I think the answer is ‘Yes’.  Many Christians have absolutely no problem with working or shopping on a Sunday. They go to church and then they go shopping. However the Bible is quite clear that God has a definite view about this.  When God created the universe he worked for six days and rested on the seventh.

This was long before the Ten Commandments where God reiterated his desire for his people to rest on the Sabbath (and the word Sabbath has its roots in the word rest) and do no work so that even their servants and the animals could also rest. The reason for keeping the seventh day special, set apart or holy was because God himself rested on the seventh day from his labours. This is the example he set.

Society needs basic and emergency services manned seven days a week but I believe it is vital that everyone gets one rest day a week.  We need one day that is different from the other six to rest and re-charge our batteries.

In Russia some years ago they changed to a ten-day working week to boost productivity. The result was disastrous. People could not cope with it at any level; physical or emotional. Our bodies and minds are programmed to the rhythm of a seven-day week. However I also believe we are programmed to have one day a week of rest because that is what our Creator did and we are made in his image.

Somehow a subtle lie seems to have infiltrated the Church that because we are under grace not law we can pick and choose which commandments we keep. We don’t stone people caught in adultery though the Bible is quite clear that adultery is wrong and some of the health and hygiene laws in Leviticus are no longer appropriate but the Ten Commandments where God gave the instruction about the Sabbath is a basic set of laws appropriate to any society. We need to see them not as shackles but as liberators for good healthy living and relationships - for all.

In our work obsessed societies, the word rest has become almost synonymous with lazy. This is the greatest lie of all. Now it is not just shops and garden centres that are open on Sunday but builders, plumbers, carpet fitters and so on like to fit in an extra day of work. We had an extension recently and our builder wanted to work on Sunday. We declined. This was not from a deep religious conviction but because firstly we don’t want people working in our house when we are resting and secondly we don’t want to be the cause of someone else working on a rest day. If they choose to work elsewhere that is their prerogative.

Personally I think churches and Christians need to look again at the whole issue of Sundays.  Family life is seriously undermined on all sides and I think we should do all we can to protect and promote it. Some people have to work but how much are our lifestyle choices undermining other people’s need for a day of rest with family and friends?

As Christians I believe it is time we stopped fitting into the culture and instead created a culture based on what the Bible teaches. God has a very definite view of the Sabbath day of rest – maybe we should too?