Matthew 5: 20-26
For I tell you, unless your
righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never
enter the kingdom of heaven.
‘You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.” But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, “You fool”, you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
This verse truly came home to me many years ago. I had a young lady helping me in a ministry at the church. She was very generous with her time and I was thankful for her presence. Mostly.Although she was exceptionally helpful, our personalities clashed. Neither of us were totally right or totally wrong, we just continually came to different conclusions. And rather than taking the high road as the "older, more experienced" adult, I pulled rank! After all, I was the one who had to answer for what we were doing and planning!
It became a habit to over-ride her suggestions. I became an expert at picking apart her ideas, most likely because I didn't think of them first. I doubt you'll be surprised to learn that after a while she finally had enough and resigned. Allowing her to walk away from this ministry was a sad event, and so was my attitude of "that's fine, now we won't have to fight about everything".
I was content when she left...for about 3 days. And then the Word shown above started to weigh heavily on my heart so that each time I walked forward to partake in the Eucharist, I felt uncomfortable, even dirty (So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.). I came to see the many ways I had punished her for trying to help knowing I had been so wrong.
I began to dread the first Sunday of the month. I felt totally unworthy to touch the communion elements...much less partake in them. I struggled and no matter how I colored the picture, I knew that I had not been acting like a child of God. I prayed for God's direction, hoping for the most "painless" resolution, but that was not to be. I came to know that He would accept nothing less than me swallowing my pride and asking her forgiveness.
Unbeknownst to me, while I was wrestling with God's direction on this matter, she moved quite far away. I sent what I hoped she would know was a heart felt letter of apology (email wasn't invented yet!). And even though I was never able to look into her eyes and see her forgiveness, she did send word that all was well between us.
Some might say that I didn't completely learn the lesson, that He let me off too easy. But I can promise you, I did. I had never before lived with the absolute certainty that God was disappointed in me. He knew all along that she would forgive me if I asked. He didn't require me to travel to a far away city to ask for it...a letter was enough.
‘You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.” But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, “You fool”, you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
This verse truly came home to me many years ago. I had a young lady helping me in a ministry at the church. She was very generous with her time and I was thankful for her presence. Mostly.Although she was exceptionally helpful, our personalities clashed. Neither of us were totally right or totally wrong, we just continually came to different conclusions. And rather than taking the high road as the "older, more experienced" adult, I pulled rank! After all, I was the one who had to answer for what we were doing and planning!
It became a habit to over-ride her suggestions. I became an expert at picking apart her ideas, most likely because I didn't think of them first. I doubt you'll be surprised to learn that after a while she finally had enough and resigned. Allowing her to walk away from this ministry was a sad event, and so was my attitude of "that's fine, now we won't have to fight about everything".
I was content when she left...for about 3 days. And then the Word shown above started to weigh heavily on my heart so that each time I walked forward to partake in the Eucharist, I felt uncomfortable, even dirty (So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.). I came to see the many ways I had punished her for trying to help knowing I had been so wrong.
I began to dread the first Sunday of the month. I felt totally unworthy to touch the communion elements...much less partake in them. I struggled and no matter how I colored the picture, I knew that I had not been acting like a child of God. I prayed for God's direction, hoping for the most "painless" resolution, but that was not to be. I came to know that He would accept nothing less than me swallowing my pride and asking her forgiveness.
Unbeknownst to me, while I was wrestling with God's direction on this matter, she moved quite far away. I sent what I hoped she would know was a heart felt letter of apology (email wasn't invented yet!). And even though I was never able to look into her eyes and see her forgiveness, she did send word that all was well between us.
Some might say that I didn't completely learn the lesson, that He let me off too easy. But I can promise you, I did. I had never before lived with the absolute certainty that God was disappointed in me. He knew all along that she would forgive me if I asked. He didn't require me to travel to a far away city to ask for it...a letter was enough.
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