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? Itโ€™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 โ€œgood ideas for other peopleโ€ crossed my lips ironically, and I found myself chuckling and thinking, โ€œa good title for an aging rockerโ€™s albumโ€ฆ or a CWRm article!โ€ Why the latter? Because all too often, the shadow side of religion is that itโ€™s so liberal in spouting, shouting, or imposing its โ€œgood ideasโ€ at and on other peopleโ€ฆ And when Iโ€™m more mindful, I can catch myself when Iโ€™m doing it. 

Thatโ€™s when I remember Paulโ€™s exhortation,

โ€œMake it your ambition to lead a quiet life: you should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told youโ€ฆโ€ (1 Thessalonians 4:11).

Wait! What? Thatโ€™s in the Bible? Itโ€™s one of those verses so simple and so radical that youโ€™ll rarely hear it preached. How would you preach โ€œmind your own businessโ€? It would be ironic, right? Of course, Paulโ€™s remarkable challenge would be more obvious to us if we took seriously Jesusโ€™ words (command, actually) to โ€œjudge notโ€ (Matthew 7:1). No sooner do we embark on the path of judgment (stirred up by self-righteousness) than weโ€™re overcome by the impulse to bring a word of correctionโ€ฆ with my good ideas for other people

And weโ€™re back to Jesusโ€™ command: โ€œFirst, remove the log from your eye. Only then will you see clearly the speck in your brotherโ€™s eyeโ€ (Matthew 7:3).

 In reflecting on that verse, three points jump out at me afreshโ€”meaning I need to hear them again: (1) Jesus assumes the relative size of my obstructionโ€ฆ itโ€™s much bigger than my brotherโ€™s or sisterโ€™s. Why? Because whatever their offense is versus mine, Iโ€™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 โ€˜brotherโ€™ means I need to remember who Iโ€™m presuming to judge. This is a spiritual siblingโ€”not a stranger or an enemyโ€”and to treat all people (not only Christians โ€“ Ephesians 3:14-15) as fellow children of God. Weโ€™re members of the human family of which Iโ€™m not the Father!

The last double irony is that Iโ€™ve just spent almost 500 words sharingย myย good ideas for the peopleย with you. But I hope at least that theyโ€™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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