The Ministry of Listening

“Christians have forgotten that the ministry of listening has been committed to them by Him who is Himself the great listener and whose work they should share. We should listen with the ears of God that we may speak the Word of God.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Some Christians can be downright mean to other people. Non-religious individuals in today’s culture believe that some Christians are untrustworthy. Why is this? Apart from someone being offended by something in the Bible; there should never be anything offensive in followers of Christ.

I am always amazed at the grace, love, support, and forgiveness that are found among the unchurched, which is many times not available with those who attend a house of worship.

Some Christians develop a sense of entitlement because they believe are the elite members of the family of God. We feel this gives us the right to look down upon others who are not one of us.

Our behavior can be a result of our misunderstanding of God’s grace and forgiveness. We feel that because God forgives us for all our sins that we can treat others in terrible ways. God will still forgive us. His grace is never a license to treat others so shamefully.

There is the critical, judgmental, legalistic attitude taught and practiced in some churches. We feel we might have the edge on truth. If this is correct, it is our duty to point out other’s shortcomings.

This judgmental attitude is rarely received well by others especially when they can see the sins in our own existence that we are trying desperately to hide. When we treat others badly, some Christians give excuses as to why their treatment to others is justified. Does any of this sound familiar:

1.  “Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, and don’t give the devil an opportunity”: [i]When this verse is quoted, rarely is the anger in question actually just anger. Usually, we are sinfully lashing out at someone who slighted us, and then trying to spiritually justify our anger.

 

2.  “Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet, then turn and rip you to shreds”: [ii]I actually know some Christians who say this. They say that all non-Christians are swine, and should be treated as such. We are only to treat Christians nicely.

 

3.  “Don’t judge other people, and you will not be judged”: [iii]People don’t like their sin pointed out to them. It’s easy to get defensive and tell people to mind their own business. Truthfully, if we are not being witnesses of Jesus’ grace, then we are failing in our primary directive given to us by our Savior.

4.  Christians are also sinners: The idea behind this excuse is that there is an unrealistic expectation on Christians. When our sin is pointed out to us, we excuse our actions by reminding others that we are also sinners. When our sin is pointed out to us, the proper response should be: “Thanks for pointing that out. With God’s help, I will do better next time.”

5.  It isn’t illegal: There is a big difference between not breaking the laws of our nation, and treating people with love, respect, and dignity. God’s laws are higher than man’s laws. Even though a person may be following man’s laws perfectly, this does not mean they are following God’s laws.

6.  It’s okay. I’m not in church: Church is not a place you go to for a couple hours on Sunday morning; nor is it an event at in which you change your clothing and behavior. The Holy Spirit goes with you wherever you go. No matter what you are saying or doing, you are a representative of Jesus Christ.

7.  Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God instead of people”: [iv]Christians sometimes use this verse as a way to justify being mean and rude to other people. The twisted logic is that we can please our Heavenly Father by irritating friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors hate us. It’s certain we are not pleasing the Almighty.

8.  They’re not Christians: Some people have the misguided belief that we are only to treat those within the family of God with honesty and respect. Those outside the family of God can be slandered, abused, and swindled.

9.  This doesn’t involve my Christianity: Truly following Jesus requires that we make changes in all aspects of life, not just in our behavior on Sunday morning. If we are treating others shamefully at work, we are not properly representing Jesus in our lives. We must not divorce our spiritual life from any other aspect of our existence.

10. What happens in Vegas; stays in Vegas: Like the famous city in Nevada this quote is known for, rarely does what happens in the church stay there. Technology has provided Christians with an abundant number of methods in spreading the news (whatever it might be).

11.      You have heard that the law says, "Take an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth": [v]We often feel that revenge is within our rights as Christians, and we quote scripture to prove it. Quoting Scripture in this way is similar to how the devil quoted Scripture to Jesus in the wilderness: the Scripture is ripped out of context and completely misapplied. If we are following Jesus, we will forgive our enemies, and love, bless, and pray for those who mistreat us.[vi]

“Sometimes we focus on the mess or the broken dream, but in all the mess God sees greatness. He knows how to take your troubles and turn them into trophies, how to take the test and make it your testimony.” (Joel Osteen) [vii]

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[i] Ephesians 4:26-27 (CSB)

 

[ii] Matthew 7:6 (TLV)

 

[iii] Matthew 7:1 (ICB)

 

[iv] Acts 5:29 (NIRV)

 

[v] Matthew 5:38 (New Testament)(WE)

 

[vi] Adapted from: “Why are Christians so Mean? Here are 10 Excuses Church People Give for Treating Others Badly” by Jeremy Myers

 

[vii] Inspired by the sermon “Sensible Sensitivity: Slow to Anger, Part 2” (Installment two, final) Sunday, May 7, 2017 Dave Jansen CenterPoint Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH