Equal Distinction |
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Elder
Phillip Conley |
Proverbs
17:15, "He that justifieth the wicked, and he that
condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the
LORD."
This
morning, humanity operates under perspectives and judgments
with variance and uncertainty. God alone has pure, absolute
knowledge of infinite scope making Him the perfect judge and
unvarying authority for any and all circumstances. Years
ago, I worked with a man who - though well meaning - would
incorrectly assert, "People just need to accept that we all
operate under different varying shades of gray in life."
While I understand that people do have a lot of gray areas
in life, judgment, and circumstances, such should not be the
case all the time. The Lord has given us plain declaration
of things that are right and wrong, true and false, and
proper and improper. Most of the time, our "gray area" comes
from an unwillingness to do what is needed rather than being
ignorant of what is needful for a situation.
In our
study verse, the wise man asserts two opposite situations
that are equal in the Lord's eyes. Whether someone is
accepting someone or something that is not right or not
accepting something or someone that is right, both of them
are equal to God's perspective: abomination. To understand
how weighty this is, simply compile a list of wrongdoings
from Scripture and note how selective God is in using the
term "abomination." It is something that He reserves
selectively and uses sparingly. Therefore, when something
merits abomination in the sight of the Lord, it should
powerfully impress us.
One of
the reasons that this verse needs to be put on display in
our mind's eye is that all of us drift towards one of these
or the other. Let us explain it this way. Some people are
bent towards niceness and are willing to "go along to get
along." Under the moniker of "peacemakers," they will say,
"Well, I would rather err on the side of charity." In so
doing, it becomes easier for this mindset to justify the
wicked or make allowances for things that are not right. On
the other hand, other people are bent towards firm stances
on what they value as being the proper course. Under the
moniker of "conviction," they will say, "I would rather err
on the side of truth." In so doing, it becomes easier for
this mindset to condemn the just by hammering things that do
not fit inside their box. Kind reader, do you see
yourself in one of these two camps? I certainly understand
which way I am bent in my makeup and disposition.
When we see other people that fall into the opposite "camp"
from our general course of thinking, we might say, "I don't
see how they do that." For those that are bent towards
charity, they do not understand how people can be so
hard-nosed about things that they themselves deem
unnecessary and nonessential. For those that are bent
towards truth, they do not understand how people can be so
lax and tolerating about things that they themselves deem
wrong and shameful. It is easier for us to make allowances
for people who think like we do, though we should always be
looking for ways to expand and grow our thinking to improve
our weak points and move ever closer to the mark of Jesus
Christ our Lord. Since none of us are there yet, we have
moving and growing to do right now.
Let us consider two Bible characters that highlight this
point. For a time, Barnabas and Paul traveled together in
the book of Acts as yokefellows in the ministry. From
Scriptural record, they seem to be very different men in
disposition and makeup. Barnabas was a brother of
consolation and an encourager. He was one of the first to
recommend Paul to the brethren as no longer the dreaded and
feared Saul of Tarsus. Paul was one who could be flinty and
hard nosed for a battle. He was the one who had the courage
to stand up to Peter and say, "You're wrong. This is your
fault." The church today still has men who generally fit one
of these bills more than the other. Some men/ministers are
good at encouragement, while others are good at standing
against wrong when errors creep upon the borders of Zion.
Truth be told, Zion needs both for her wellbeing, and even
tougher truth, we need to grow into maturity in both avenues
as full grown trees by the well watered rivers of Canaan.
In my short time on earth, I have seen good-minded men
swallow and tolerate things for far too long that should
have been dealt with swiftly to prevent damage to the sheep
of God's pasture. I have also seen men stand so viciously
opposed to mindsets and ideas that were not un-Scriptural to
prevent damage to the sheep of God's pasture. Did we notice
the similarity? Both ended up in the same place: damage to
the sheep of God's pasture. How could two opposing mindsets
end up in the same place? Because both are alike an
abomination to the Lord. Whether someone is being charitable
and justifying the wicked in the process or standing upon
conviction and condemning the just, the Lord holds both in
equal distinction. We may frown at one more than the other,
but God views both the same. Over time, I have had to refine
and hone different parts of my mindset. Sometimes our minds
can be like pendulums. We may say, "I need to become more
charitable" and end up being too tolerant. We may say, "I
need to become more convicted" and end up too harsh or
critical. In the end, we need to understand the starting
point. Whether someone desires to err on the side of charity
or truth, the point is the same. We are starting with
erring! When I was in school, a teacher gave me a nugget
that has helped my mindset in many avenues of life. She
said, "When you approach an assignment, make it your goal to
ace it. Though you won't ace everything, by shooting for it,
your ceiling is at its potential." In other words, if your
goal is just to make a B, you cede ground automatically. No,
you will not make 100% on everything, but shooting for it
gets you closer than if you just shot for 90%. In
marksmanship, there is an expression called "aim small, miss
small." If your goal is just to hit the target, then any
variance leads to a great miss. If your goal is as close to
center as possible, a miss will still be close to the mark
and still generally on target. In our lives, we need to
start by saying, "I want to hit the mark." When we miss, the
variance will be smaller, and we will not justify the wicked
or condemn the righteous nearly as often as we would by
ceding ground to one direction or the other. Let us today
refocus, aim truer, and make the mark of Jesus our starting
point in all things.
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