Good Ideas for Other People – Brad Jersak
Do you ever inadvertently blurt out a line that sounds so clever you smirk to yourself in self-satisfaction? No? Itโs 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 โgood ideas for other peopleโ crossed my lips ironically, and I found myself chuckling and thinking, โa good title for an aging rockerโs albumโฆ or a CWRm article!โ Why the latter? Because all too often, the shadow side of religion is that itโs so liberal in spouting, shouting, or imposing its โgood ideasโ at and on other peopleโฆ And when Iโm more mindful, I can catch myself when Iโm doing it.
Thatโs when I remember Paulโs exhortation,
โMake it your ambition to lead a quiet life: you should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told youโฆโ (1 Thessalonians 4:11).
Wait! What? Thatโs in the Bible? Itโs one of those verses so simple and so radical that youโll rarely hear it preached. How would you preach โmind your own businessโ? It would be ironic, right? Of course, Paulโs remarkable challenge would be more obvious to us if we took seriously Jesusโ words (command, actually) to โjudge notโ (Matthew 7:1). No sooner do we embark on the path of judgment (stirred up by self-righteousness) than weโre overcome by the impulse to bring a word of correctionโฆ with my good ideas for other people.
And weโre back to Jesusโ command: โFirst, remove the log from your eye. Only then will you see clearly the speck in your brotherโs eyeโ (Matthew 7:3).
In reflecting on that verse, three points jump out at me afreshโmeaning I need to hear them again: (1) Jesus assumes the relative size of my obstructionโฆ itโs much bigger than my brotherโs or sisterโs. Why? Because whatever their offense is versus mine, Iโve 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 โbrotherโ means I need to remember who Iโm presuming to judge. This is a spiritual siblingโnot a stranger or an enemyโand to treat all people (not only Christians โ Ephesians 3:14-15) as fellow children of God. Weโre members of the human family of which Iโm not the Father!
The last double irony is that Iโve just spent almost 500 words sharingย myย good ideas for the peopleย with you. But I hope at least that theyโre 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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