Friday, November 17, 2023
…we will
speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is
the head of his body, the church.
Ephesians 4:15
In his book Talk the Walk,
pastor and author Steve Brown writes:
A number of years ago, John Whitehead
– an attorney, author, and The Rutherford Institute’s founder and president –
gave me a bumper sticker that read in big bold letters,
When you’re anywhere near the line
dividing left from right, you’re holding some things (at least) in the
middle. I’ve followed pastor Steve Brown’s
teachings for about twenty years, and I can say with no hesitation, he finds
that place which removes one from being identified…politically. For a Christian, that is what golfers refer
to as the sweet spot – that place on your golf club where the
club face ought to strike the ball for the best distance and accuracy. The further right or left you move takes the
Christian witness and message down a notch or two.
News media love to exploit events to
attract advertising revenue; that’s their sweet-spot, a settled business
fact. You cannot pay your employees
without selling soap! Last week in
Charlotte, videos went viral of a woman being subdued by police with obvious
physical force, for allegedly smoking marijuana in public.
Immediate responses were typical; the
politically-left side immediately crying the foul of
police brutality, while the politically-right side cited the police use of
force as appropriate peace-keeping. The third response, one I say at the risk of
putting words in pastor Steve Brown’s mouth, is: Let’s wait for the investigation before
we burst a right or left blood vessel.
Another preacher, a very good friend
and close associate of Jesus, named Apostle Paul, executed by the Roman
government took that third (and less-traveled) road of giving truth a chance to
come to the winner’s circle. Paul was no
stranger to mob violence. According to Acts 14:19 he was stoned, dragged out of town,
and left for dead. Still, Paul counsels
speaking the truth, as did Jesus, and letting truth set whatever wrong to the
right.
Slinging slogans around is a
political club. Those who shout: Speak truth to power are
presenting only half the case; we should also speak truth to the
powerless. Truth is for all, and
that will set anyone free, if they will place the matter in the Master’s hand,
and give it time.
For You Today
If you lean left, or lean right, try
to keep in mind that leaning is the next step in falling…falling prey to the
enemy’s invitation to his side. Better
to rest in the sweet-spot of truth with Godly longsuffering, than hitting your
last ball of free-will out of bounds!
There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons
in the Rocky Road library.
Today’s title Image from Pixabay.com
Images without citation are in public domain or cited
via weblinks.
Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT©
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