A
few weeks ago, I was watching a news show where they had two people from
different political perspectives talking about an issue. This wasn’t a show set up to create division
and drama, it was actually a show to promote dialogue and discussion. I don’t remember what the issue was, but I do
remember that they each shared their views and then realized that they both
believed that what they were saying was right and the other person was wrong. It wasn’t that they held different opinions
on a topic or had different solutions to a problem, they each genuinely
believed that the truth they held was not the truth that the other held. In a good-natured way, they said, and this is the problem we have as a nation.
If
we have strong personal, political, social, economic, and theological beliefs,
then deep down we believe, with certainty, that we are right and if others
don’t see it our way, then they are wrong.
There is no problem with this kind of certainty. Having confidence in what we believe is a
good thing, but is the most important thing in life being right? Is our highest priority in life to be right?
Jesus
was surrounded by a lot of people who believed they were right about
everything, and for the most part, they were.
They were called Pharisees. These
were religious leaders who really did know everything about the law, and they
knew which of the 600+ laws you needed to follow and when. They believed they were smarter, more
faithful, and just better than those around them. Because of how they saw themselves, it was
easy for them to look down on those who believed, lived, and acted
differently. One day, when Jesus was
surrounded by people who had this kind of confidence and knew they were right,
He told them this parable.
Two
men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax
collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I
am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax
collector. I fast twice a week and give
a tenth of all I get.’
“But
the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but
beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
“I
tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.
For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble
themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:10-14
The
Pharisee in Jesus' story would have been a visibly righteous man. He would have made a show of following all of
God's law and made sure that people knew that he not only knew all the laws to
follow but that he was faithful and obedient in following them. The Pharisee says to God, thank you that I know what is right and that I do what is right and
that I am not like those around me who are sinners.
The
tax collector would have been a visible sinner.
Everyone knew who the tax collector was in town, and they were despised
because they were seen as traitors to God’s people. Tax collectors worked with the Roman
government, the enemy of Israel, and they often cheated their own family and
friends to get what they needed to give to Rome and then have what they wanted
for themselves. They were known to everyone,
and everyone knew them as sinners. In
Jesus' parable, when it came time to pray, the tax collector begged for mercy
because of his sin.
The
Pharisee said, I’m righteous and he’s a
sinner. The tax collector said, I’m a sinner and I know it. I need
God’s grace. Jesus said to those who
were always interested in being right that it was the tax collector who was
justified. It was the tax collector who
God honored. It was the tax collector
who was right.
In
telling this parable, Jesus is telling us that life and faith is not just about
what’s right and wrong, it’s also pride and humility. God isn’t just concerned about whether we
know what is right and wrong, and always do what is right, He is also concerned
about how we love and care for others.
He is concerned about whether we are trusting in ourselves for salvation
or if we are trusting in Him. He is concerned about how we see ourselves and
how we see others. Being right may not
be as important as the attitude of our heart.
This
isn’t to diminish what we believe is right and wrong or how we believe God
calls us to live. As followers of Jesus,
we do believe that the way
Jesus lived is important and that the
truth Jesus taught is absolute truth.
Jesus even said, I am the way
and the truth and the life. So,
believing and sharing and teaching the truth is important. Knowing what is right and wrong is
important. What we need to be careful of
is slipping into an attitude of feeling like we are always right, which allows
us to look down on those who for whatever reason might disagree.
When
we are constantly offended by the views of others because we believe our views
to be right and they are wrong, it’s easy to grow in our contempt for
them. If you see a friend share all
kinds of political messages on social media that you don’t agree with, or that
offend you, it’s easy to begin to not just hate what they post but to hate
them. How can they believe those things?
How can they be so wrong? We
might start out by thinking that they are just misinformed but then we might
shift to thinking that they are bad.
Let
me bring this home to the church and what we need to guard against. In the church, we are guardians of the way,
truth and life of Jesus so part of what we do is assess situations and
teachings and movements. We ask
ourselves if what we hear is true and in line with Jesus? Is the way of others truly the way of
Jesus? It’s important to evaluate and
assess what we see going on, but it can be easy for us to slip from assessing
things to judging things. It’s very easy
to go from assessing people to judging them and then looking down on them.
This
is what the Pharisees were doing at the time of Jesus. They knew what was right about all things in
the law. They knew all the ways people
had to follow the law. They judged what
was acceptable and not acceptable for people under the law. The problem was that in time they started to
care more about the law than the people.
They looked with contempt at anyone who they knew was wrong and it can
be easy for us to do the same thing.
One
reason it is so easy for us to go from assessing truth to having contempt for
others is because we are all sinners, and our hearts are easily deceived. The Bible says the heart is deceitful above all
things and beyond cure. Jeremiah
17:9. As right as we think we
are, we might actually be wrong. If our
views aren’t wrong, then maybe our approach in dealing with the situation is
wrong. Are we as loving and gracious and
kind as we need to be? Are we more
concerned about being right and being seen by others as being right or are we
more focused on loving others in a way that makes a difference?
Jesus
wasn’t just concerned about what was right and wrong, He was also concerned
about pride and humility. Don’t be so
sure of being right that you end up being wrong. Let me say that again, don’t be so sure of being right that you end up being wrong. People were not drawn to Jesus because of how
right He was but because of how loving and gracious He was. Sinners were drawn to Jesus not because He
told them what was right and wrong and how they had to live their lives but
because He showed them how much He loved them.
Look
at some of the examples of Jesus’ life where if He had only been concerned
about what was right, things would have looked very different.
Jesus
was known for going to parties at the homes of sinners where there was a lot of
eating and drinking. This kind of
association for a righteous person was wrong and if Jesus had gone to these
homes and told everyone they were wrong and that they needed to change how they
were living, He never would have been invited back. But He was invited back and in time His love
for people began to make a difference.
At
one dinner, a prostitute crashed the meal and poured oil all over Jesus' head
and then wiped His feet with her tears.
The homeowner had contempt for the woman and even questioned what kind
of man Jesus was because He allowed this well-known sinner to do this. What Jesus did was wrong, but His love and
acceptance of this woman and her gift made a difference.
On
His way to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through a town and saw a tax collector that
everyone knew. Jesus said, I want to eat at your house today, and
so He went and ate with Zacchaeus. This
wasn’t the right thing to do, and yet because He did it, it made a difference
in the tax collector’s life. He changed
his ways and honored God.
On
a hot afternoon, Jesus stopped to rest at a well and saw a woman gathering
water. She was there at noon because
none of the righteous women in town wanted to associate with her. Her lifestyle was wrong. She had had too many husbands and had given
up on marriage all together so was now just living with a man. Jesus shouldn’t have spoken to her, but He
did. He wasn’t worried about being
right, He wanted to love her and see if that love would make a difference, and
it did.
People
weren’t drawn to Jesus because He was right and told them how wrong they were
and that that needed to change, they were drawn to Him because of how His love
made them feel. They felt honored, valued, cared for and included by Jesus and
that unconditional love made the difference.
As followers of Jesus, we need to remember that the world isn’t going to
be drawn to Jesus because of how right we are.
They are drawn to Jesus because of how our love for them makes them
feel.
One
of the final words Jesus gave his disciples was this,
My
children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and
just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
A
new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love
one another. By this everyone will know
that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:33-35
Jesus
shared this with His disciples after the Last Supper. He only had a few more hours with them and He
was speaking with incredible love and compassion. When Jesus said, my children, the word for children is an intimate word a father
would use to talk to his children. It is
the only time Jesus used this word. He
is speaking to them as God the Father saying, my children, the world will know you are my disciples if you will love
one another. It’s not about being
right or wrong, it's also about pride and humility. It’s about showing love.
If
our priority and posture is to always be right, this is what happens:
I’m right!
It’s
a vicious circle.
Jesus
was the only truly right person who ever lived.
He was absolute truth and righteousness
He is the only one who can be morally superior and judge people's
actions and attitudes and He is the only one who could have chosen to be angry
and offended, but Jesus chose not to live that way. We have to choose a different way.
Instead
of a priority and posture of being right, what if we chose a priority and
posture of gratitude.
I’m
forgiven!
Jesus
didn’t draw people to himself, or into a relationship with God, because of how
right He was. If Jesus, who was always
right, didn’t do that, how can we possibly think we can draw people to Him by
how right we are when we aren’t always going to be right. We change people by loving them, not by
judging them.
The
first part of 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter, goes like this,
If
I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a
resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can
fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move
mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:1-2
If
I have all knowledge and speak all that is true but do not have love, I am
nothing. Love is what makes the
difference. Truth and wisdom are needed,
but without love they are nothing. As
the church, we need to lead with love.
We need to prioritize love. We
don’t give up on the truth. We don’t let
go of our faith and the way of Jesus; we just choose to begin from a place of
love knowing that it was love that changed our lives.
What
helps me grow in faith is not hearing people tell me what is right and wrong
but by experiencing the love of Jesus in them.
When love draws us closer to Jesus, then His love has the power to make
a difference. So, let’s prioritize love
and allow the love of God flowing through us to change our world.
Next Steps
No Offense - Week 3
Read Luke 18:10-14
●
Where do
you feel right and justified in pointing out what is wrong?
●
How does
Jesus show us that pride and humility are equally important?
●
Where
might pride be an issue in your life?
●
Where is
humility needed?
Read Jeremiah 17:9.
●
Why do we
need to be careful about feeling so “right” about things?
●
When have
you been right about something but then either been wrong or done the wrong
thing?
Look at these examples of Jesus prioritizing love.
●
Matthew
9:10-17 - Jesus eats and
drinks with sinners.
●
Luke
7:35-50 - Jesus anointed by a
sinful woman.
●
Luke
19:1-10 - Jesus eats with a
tax collector.
●
John
4:4-42 - Jesus and the woman
at the well.
How does each story show Jesus' priority of love?
How can these examples shape our attitudes and actions?
How can you prioritize forgiveness and grace?
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