July 10 THROW AWAY PEOPLE
Even if a man should be detected in some sin, my brothers, the spiritual ones among you should quietly set him back on the right path, not with any feeling of superiority but being yourselves on guard against temptation. Gal. 6:1, Phillips.
You reach for the paper cup in a dispenser and pull it down. You fill the cup and drink from it. When it is empty, it seems cheap and worthless. So you simply throw it away. Keeping it for later use would be too much bother. Furthermore, there are plenty more where this one came from.
You have a number of employees under your supervision. Jobs are scarce, with a dozen applicants for every opening. One of your employees, overwhelmed with personal problems, becomes ineffective on the job. To deal with his problems would demand too much of your time, and the names of a dozen apparently problem-free applicants are on file in the personnel office. So you fire him.
You discover that a church member has succumbed to some dark sin that is embarrassing to the congregation. You begin to weigh the personal demands--in time and energy--involved in helping him to set his life in order once again. Yours is a large congregation, and he isn't a particularly prominent member. What is more, you have Church Manual grounds to disfellowship him. What will you do?
How very easy it is to become indignant with troublesome people and to use their failings as an excuse to pass them by in favor of more "promising" people. It is so time-consuming, so taxing of our interpersonal skills, to confront in a redemptive manner the brooding and confused victims of this sin-blasted planet.
Jesus never looked upon anyone as a throwaway person. Even the most unpromising could not hide their true potential from the eyes of One who knew how powerfully His love could affect them. He never cast them aside to go in search of more promising prospects.
We represent our Father best when we cherish each person we meet as of great worth.
Even if a man should be detected in some sin, my brothers, the spiritual ones among you should quietly set him back on the right path, not with any feeling of superiority but being yourselves on guard against temptation. Gal. 6:1, Phillips.
You reach for the paper cup in a dispenser and pull it down. You fill the cup and drink from it. When it is empty, it seems cheap and worthless. So you simply throw it away. Keeping it for later use would be too much bother. Furthermore, there are plenty more where this one came from.
You have a number of employees under your supervision. Jobs are scarce, with a dozen applicants for every opening. One of your employees, overwhelmed with personal problems, becomes ineffective on the job. To deal with his problems would demand too much of your time, and the names of a dozen apparently problem-free applicants are on file in the personnel office. So you fire him.
You discover that a church member has succumbed to some dark sin that is embarrassing to the congregation. You begin to weigh the personal demands--in time and energy--involved in helping him to set his life in order once again. Yours is a large congregation, and he isn't a particularly prominent member. What is more, you have Church Manual grounds to disfellowship him. What will you do?
How very easy it is to become indignant with troublesome people and to use their failings as an excuse to pass them by in favor of more "promising" people. It is so time-consuming, so taxing of our interpersonal skills, to confront in a redemptive manner the brooding and confused victims of this sin-blasted planet.
Jesus never looked upon anyone as a throwaway person. Even the most unpromising could not hide their true potential from the eyes of One who knew how powerfully His love could affect them. He never cast them aside to go in search of more promising prospects.
We represent our Father best when we cherish each person we meet as of great worth.
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