I have this nifty blue coke glass (the one's that McDonalds gave away). If you've ever seen a coke glass, they are wide at the top and then curve in and are narrower at the bottom. When I went to the freezer for ice, I just grabbed a handful from the ice maker and tossed it in...only to realize that it filled to the brim very quickly. Noticing this odd fact, I looked closer at the glass and found that there was a jam in the ice. So I shook the glass, and nothing happened. finally I sifted through the ice only to realize there was one piece (two-wide) that was keeping all the rest of the ice from reaching the bottom. In order to get the ice where I wanted it, this ice would have to be broken.
...of course, this inspired a thought in me. I was thinking, you know, a lot of time we can be like that ice. If the destination that parallels the narrow bottom of the glass is the straight and narrow, sometimes I find that I or other Christians have been guilty of holding people back from geting closer to God. To put in more familiar terms, we have been a stumbling block. Romans 10:13 tells us, "Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way." Shortly after my 21st birthday, many people asked me if I was going to start drinking. Originally, I fought with myself over this question because I have been raised in a home abstaining from any alcohol assumption. While I believe the Bible clearly commands us not to get drunk, I have yet to find scripture that says drinking within limits is wrong. The reason why I finally decided not to drink was because I am a teenage Sunday School teacher. I thought to myself, "if one of my teens were to see me out drinking, what impact would that have on their walk." Now, mind you if I drank it would be responsibly...but I don't think a lot of people who see someone drinking think about the whole story. So that was enough that I didn't want to have any chance of condoning drinking to them and potential putting a stumbling block in their way. I also found in Romans today where it tells us (chapter 14, verse 21), "It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall." The point of this scripture is that if you know someone around you is tempted by something or has feelings against it--don't partake in it, at least in their presence.
What so many people miss about the Christian faith is that it's about so much more than just holy rollers trying to point fingers and condemn the world. Now, mind you, we are instructed to correct our brothers and sisters in love, BUT a lot of time this is approached incorrectly (as we can see throughout history). But as with any situation, we will not let mistakes of the past hold us back from doing better in the presence. So the Christian faith is first and foremost about God--this amazing God who created this world and was full of love--and then humans took advantage of Him creating them and giving them freewill and lived lives far from His will, His way, and His love. In order to bridge the gap between human nature of sin and purity of God, Christ was sent to forgive our sins if we pick up our Cross and follow Him. With this cross though is the beginning of the Christian story--Christ literally carried the burdens of all others in this world. In following Him, we are supposed to as well. Our hearts should be heavy for the needs of others--not just the poor, orphans, and widows (James 1:27), but also for the emotional needs, spiritual needs, support needs, 'help me get through my day' needs. The role of a Christian in it's most basic form is 1)Worship God above all else, 2)In your worship of God, help others to see clearly the path to Him by removing yourself as a stumbling block and adding yourself as a servant to assist them.
People often look at the Bible as a book of do's and don't's...and mind you, we are called to a certain level of actions..but it is SOOOO much more than that. But, let's take a second to reflect on, what if it is a lot of do's and don'ts. I am an economist at heart and I will tell you I measure the majority of my decisions in costs and benefits and often make choices where the benefits outweigh the costs. Sometimes I think as humans the reason we hold on to our sin nature and our bad habits so tightly is because we feel like someone is constantly trying to take them away from us...that is, we picture ourselves as a full glass, as if we come into this world endowed with all options and completely full to the brimm. Thus, if I stop drinking, gossiping, being prideful, putting myself before others, whatever your weakness may be, then we are losing something. It is a don't. Instead, I look at life like this: I came into this world with and empty glass (which means so much potential). Every opportunity that is afforded me, I get to choose to add to my glass or leave out. So when I'm offered a drink, like I told you about earlier, I choose to not put it in this 'life glass' because the cost of making someone else stumble in their faith is not worth a little bit of social time (which can be afforded via other means, like water, coke, pizza, etc). From my point of view, nothing has been lost in that decision. I still have the freedom to choose, no one has been harmed, and hopefully some have gained from my decision. This can be said with any situation or temptation. Let's go with another, less controversial temptation of jealousy for an example. I was jealous of my absolutely gorgeous best friend in High School, and for about a year it took major tolls on and nearly destroyed our friendship. We can all clearly agree that this was wrong, correct? So obviously I had chosen to add jealousy to my life glass. Then I had to choose to remove it. Was it then a don't? No, I don't think so.
I think as Christians the Bible definitely has expectations of us, and I believe that there are certain things we should and should not do...but by looking at them as do's and don'ts they become more like orders and not like options. The way we live should reflect our love for Christ and others in our life. I don't not drink because someone told me not to, I don't drink because of my love for Christ and my love for others and the hope that they may someday be able to draw closer to Christ with my help and not with me as a stumbling block. Psalm 51:10-13 says, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvatoin and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you." That is my cry and my plea--that God would continue to work on me and cleanse me that I may be an example and not a hinderance to others. That by my seeking Him, I might help others to turn from their ways and to see ALL He has to offer (including eternity in Heaven :))
James 5:19-20 says, "My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins." Remember above that Psalm 51 said that sinners will turn back to God because of our pure hearts and steadfast spirits being examples. Rebuke in love. Most people who are in sin know it and don't normally need you to tell them. Instead, be an example, be a light, serve others, love God. Don't be the piece of ice that keeps the group from getting to the goal (the bottom of the glass), let your will be broken, conform to Christ and lead others in His way.
I believe in you, and what He can do through you.
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