Good Ideas for Other People – Brad Jersak

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Do you ever inadvertently blurt out a line that sounds so clever you smirk to yourself in self-satisfaction? No? It’s probably best to admit it before the pride creeps in and inspires you to blog about it. Alas, for me, too late. 

Somewhere recently, the words “good ideas for other people” crossed my lips ironically, and I found myself chuckling and thinking, “a good title for an aging rocker’s album… or a CWRm article!” Why the latter? Because all too often, the shadow side of religion is that it’s so liberal in spouting, shouting, or imposing its “good ideas” at and on other people… And when I’m more mindful, I can catch myself when I’m doing it. 

That’s when I remember Paul’s exhortation,

“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: you should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you…” (1 Thessalonians 4:11).

Wait! What? That’s in the Bible? It’s one of those verses so simple and so radical that you’ll rarely hear it preached. How would you preach “mind your own business”? It would be ironic, right? Of course, Paul’s remarkable challenge would be more obvious to us if we took seriously Jesus’ words (command, actually) to “judge not” (Matthew 7:1). No sooner do we embark on the path of judgment (stirred up by self-righteousness) than we’re overcome by the impulse to bring a word of correction… with my good ideas for other people. 

And we’re back to Jesus’ command: “First, remove the log from your eye. Only then will you see clearly the speck in your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:3).

 In reflecting on that verse, three points jump out at me afresh—meaning I need to hear them again: (1) Jesus assumes the relative size of my obstruction… it’s much bigger than my brother’s or sister’s. Why? Because whatever their offense is versus mine, I’ve added now my judgment to the mix, which is a perilous kind of usurping of the judgment seat reserved for Jesus. (2) My judgments truly do impair and distort my vision. When assuming the illegitimate role of judge, Jesus wants me to know I simply cannot see clearly, which is to say, through the clear and clarifying lens of love. (3) Finally, the language of ‘brother’ means I need to remember who I’m presuming to judge. This is a spiritual sibling—not a stranger or an enemy—and to treat all people (not only Christians – Ephesians 3:14-15) as fellow children of God. We’re members of the human family of which I’m not the Father!

The last double irony is that I’ve just spent almost 500 words sharing my good ideas for the people with you. But I hope at least that they’re MY ideas (not divine revelations) and that you can shake out the chaff and extract only the GOOD that you find authentically helpful.

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