Be Tender With
Sinners
“Go easy on those who
hesitate in the way of faith. Go after
those who take the wrong way. Be tender
with sinners, but not soft on sin. The
sin itself stinks to high heaven.”
-Jude 22-23 (MSG)
When my two children were in grade school, I created a reward
system for completing household chores.
Both kids had their own chart posted on the refrigerator that listed the
daily task they were to do and a place to mark points earned for that
duty. At the end of the week, points
were tallied and could be used to “buy” a reward.
Once particular week, my son had been negligent with his
tasks. When I reminded him of his
uncompleted chores, he was flippant in his response. Feeling disrespected, I reacted with zero tolerance,
and I punished him by depleting his entire week’s points earned. Defeated, my boy went to his room sulking.
A few days later, we had guests over for dinner, and my
friend, seeing my son’s chore chart on the refrigerator, asked what kind of
offense would cause a loss of all points for the week. I suddenly felt awful about my rash action in
draining my son’s rewards. I realized my
punishment had made me feel justified but had defeated my child. Looking back at the week I could see he had
kept his distance and maintained his defiance.
We have instruction from the book of Jude on how to behave
toward believers behaving outside of Christian character. Wisely Jude wrote to “be tender with sinners,
but not soft on sin.” We would do well
to respond to the bad behavior with concern for the individual, rather than reacting
in self-defense. Like with my son, an
impulsive reaction risks crushing the spirit of those we are called to dearly love.
Each of God’s children mature at a different pace...running
a race that is their own. I easily see my
own growth in faith as “normally progressing,” without giving much concern to
sinful hesitations or detours. But do I
give the same margin of mercy and grace to my Christian next of kin? Or do I zero out their reward points in the
chart that I made for them to follow?
In reflection on my parenting, I did not ask my son why he
did not do his chore. I was not
considerate of what was going on within him.
I showed more care for chores done and receiving dutiful respect than
for my child acting out of character. I
behaved badly and yet God has been so very tender with me.
In verses 20-21 Jude gives us prayer as the defensive
action while maintaining the posture of love towards one another saying:
“But you, dear
friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in
the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God’s love, keeping your arms
open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ.”
Prayer is the way to be tender with sinners, but not soft on
sin.
In what circumstances, and with which individuals, do you
routinely struggle? Are there situations
where you retaliate rather than retreat in prayer? Considering this scripture, what step might
you take towards reacting differently?
*****
Author
Bio:
Sharon has been writing and teaching biblically based curriculum, Bible studies, and devotionals since 2007.
She has
had the unique position of writing curriculum and teaching for two private,
Christ-based, residential recovery programs. Both programs primarily served
women in the homeless community.
Sharon has
traveled multiple times to Kenya, serving on medical teams and teaching in the
rural Maasai communities. She’s been privileged to speak in Leadership camps intended
on encouraging and empowering the impoverished, underprivileged, and often
abused young women.
Within
these ministries, Sharon has witnessed the transformative power of loving words
spoken to the broken-hearted. Sharing God’s love and witnessing its
transformative power has become her passion.
Sharon and
her husband, divide their time between Oregon and Hawaii. They have two grown
children.
Currently,
Sharon is encouraging others via her inspirational blog, but prefers sharing
face to face. Additionally, she is working towards a degree in Ministry.
~*~
Connect
with Sharon:
Website: Sharonmusgrove.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Sharon-Musgrove-Untethered-102208978041060
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharonmusgrove_untethered/
1 comment:
Well said Sharon. Reminds me of the verse that says we need to be quick to listen and slow to speak. How much heartache we could save ourselves-and others-if we really did that. Because honestly, how often do I grab the wrong end of the stick when I presume things instead of waiting to hear what’s happening in someone else’s life. Thank you so much for the reminder…and the gentle way you shared it! Well done.
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