Meddling…

Ever since Cain asked God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” we as humans have struggled over how much to involve ourselves in the affairs of others. We have within us a desire for true community and genuine relationships, a desire placed in our hearts by God Himself, but it seems we often sabotage it somehow.

From my observations, it seems that people often err either on the side of withdrawing into relational isolation or over-engaging using powering and manipulation to ensure that we’re not hurt by those “close” to us. Some form of withdrawal or control seems to haunt most relationships.

But, Jesus Christ will not have that for His followers. He has saved us into one Body, making us one new man; and we as disciples of Jesus must learn how to relate to people, Christians and non-Christians. Jesus is calling us to engage in relationships, not through control but through the grace that He has shown to us.

As many of you know, I started to preach these concepts from Matthew 7:1-6, 12 this past Sunday, but was unable to finish. I want to give you my outline here to help you keep the continuity of thought from last Sunday to the next. Here are three points from this passage in summary.

1) Matthew 7:1 tells us to not judge others. This does not mean that we throw all discernment out the window, but it does mean that we set aside the critical spiritual of the fault finder within us.

We’re talking about the tendency of sizing others up just to tear them down again, continually thinking the worst of their motives and refusing to forgive and forget the sins of the past. This is exactly what Christ is commanding us not to do because the Holy Spirit will not abide in an unmerciful heart. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7). So we’re not to be blind and undiscerning, trusting everyone that we meet. We’re to be gracious, generous with the motives of others, and slow to anger as our Father is with us.

Last Sunday, I talked about how we come to this place where we are freed from the critical spirit. It’s through faith and gratitude in God—faith that God will handle all situations with His wise judgment and gratitude in the grace of God for saving a sinner like me. With these two attitudes in our hearts, the critical spirit hasn’t any room.

2) Matthew 7:2-5 teaches us to attend to our brother’s sins very carefully. After hearing “Judge not”, many people make the mistake of thinking that we’re to never engage another believer over an issue of sin, but “just live and let live” is incompatible with the community that Jesus calls us to be.

Jesus’ teaching here in Matthew 7:2-5 doesn’t tell the man with the log to simply ignore the speck in His brother’s eye. However, if this passage were rewritten for modern preferences it most certainly would. Jesus says to first take care of your own sin, and then go and help your brother. Ignoring your brother’s sin is not an option for the church community. Within the Body of Christ we’re called to relationships of accountability with one another. We’re called to submit to one another and even to confess our sins to one another (Ephesians 5:21 & James 5:16).

However, even though we are called to a certain degree of “meddling”, we’re to attend to our brother’s sin as carefully as one would go to remove a foreign object from a brother’s eye. We go to restore and heal, not to belittle or destroy. I’ll say more about this on Sunday using Galatians 6:1-3 for a little more light on the subject.

3) In Matthew 7:6, Jesus turns an unexpected corner when He tells us to not give correction to those who scorn the things of God. To hear Jesus refer to some people as dogs and pigs is quite shocking in a passage so concerned with mercy, but this is an important part of understanding how Christians are to relate to others.

Many people like the speck (or log) in their eye and they have no intention of letting you “help” them. Perhaps you have someone close to you and feel that you must say something about the destructive and habitual sins in his life. Pray about it. If you feel that God is leading you to confront that person, then go and do it; but if that person tells you it’s none of your business, then back off and let God deal with him.

The same is true with the gospel message. If you’ve shared the gospel (or tried) with a friend, but he doesn’t want to hear it, then back off and let God handle the situation. If we prevail in leading them to Christ, we won’t do it by our quick wit and forceful arguments. The gospel prevails in meekness and, sometimes, suffering. It certainly can’t be forced upon those who scorn the things of God.

As we share the gospel with all who are willing hearers, we should always respect those who have made a decisive and continual rejection. Not only must we respect their decision, but we must respect the gospel of Jesus Christ for what it is: a holy pearl, not to be thrown before those who trample it.

Are we to meddle in the affairs of others?

Jesus is calling us to engage one another in grace. We’ve got to learn humility, respect, and love. We’ve got to restore one another without being judgmental and respect those who have rejected our message. We’ve got to learn to meddle in grace.