Grating Statements

I'm thankful to have done some traveling and a couple of relocations through my years of ministry, so I can give examples of situations, good and bad without the audience having any idea to whom I refer.  I don't want to gossip, but sometimes we humans provide some amazing illustrations of what to do or not do in a given situation.  I've probably supplied a few speakers with more than one example of "horrible warning" along the way.

I was reading posts in social network the other day when one led me to an odd recollection.  Seems so much of what we call fellowship is really just coming together in agreement about whom and what in which we disagree.  Fellowship becomes a bit more difficult as we seek to agree on what is right!

I have two real sticklers and I have heard and seen it enough that when I relate the stories, so many faces, voices, or ID's come to mind, I rarely pin it down to one source.  The first one is simple and I would guess I'm far from the only one who has encountered this particular approach.  In a Bible discussion in which it becomes obvious there is a difference of interpretation, a.k.a. opinion, when someone says, "Does the Bible not say . . .?" All I hear are the words of the adversary temping Messiah in the wilderness.  That is not to say that's the intent of the person's heart, but suffice it to say, it doesn't open the lines of communication or unity of fellowship from my direction.

The other comment takes me back years, but still remains to this day.  There was a man who was always studying his Dake's Bible.  That's the KJV that includes footnotes telling what is wrong with any other translation or denomination, I think . . . Anyway, this man used to say, "Y'all can do what you want, but the Bible says . . . and he pronounced the word "says" with a long A.  It wasn't just to emphasize, that's just the way he spoke, and then he would proceed to tell us why we wrong and why if we had any sense, we'd see it his way.  Sadly, I didn't hear much after his comment, "Y'all can do what you want, but  . . ."  All I heard was.  "You can go ahead and be wrong, if that's what you want to do."

That still comes across in social media when I see the debates and a comment inferring a self-proclaimed individual absolute.  No, this is what I believe, or this is my understanding, but "Y'all can do what you want, but I'm going by Scripture!"  Sadly, I hear his voice telling me I have permission to be wrong . . ."  Unity isn't going to come by correcting each other or espousing our own correctness.  Unity isn't coming in by way of discussion, it's coming in our own silent understanding of who YHWH is.  Unity will come when we actually have our eyes on Messiah.