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| in God's loving care (Photo credit: Leonard John Matthews) |
What do you do when no one is looking? Imagine if everyone in a church was made to stand up and tell their darkest secrets. Hi, I'm having an affair. Hello, I have a cocaine habit, but you're not supposed to know that. Hi, I watch porn videos at night while my wife is sleeping. Hi, don't tell me anything because I will just turn around and tell your secret. I smoke weed, I'm an alcoholic, I have a gambling problem, I'm embezzling money, I have a habit of shoplifting; this would continue on and on. What about the child molesters, wife-beaters, and rapists? How many racist people would stand up? Would there be a murderer in the congregation?
I don't know what you do when you're alone, but I can tell you that I'm not always happy with myself in that same situation. While this church confession is very unlikely to happen, it is important to remember that we're not fooling anyone. "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." Proverbs 15:3 "God is always watching" is a phrase we often hear, but contemplate for a moment the truth behind those words. God really does see those dark secrets that we think are hidden away. That church confession that would likely produce heart attacks for a few members of any congregation, wouldn't be news to the Lord.
It's perplexing how quick to judge we are at times when we've tilled the same ground time and time again. Despite God having seen more than we could ever imagine, his unconditional love is still ready for everyone. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." John 3:17 I think what I want to work on doing is to look at what is wrong with my own self instead of finding ways to point fingers at others. I believe the more we do this, the more we are able to discern the difference between judging others and correcting others actions in love.
If we remember that the eyes of the Lord are in every place, then that should help us keep our self-righteousness in check. It can be rather tempting to say that we aren't the murderers, the adulterers, the drug users, the child molesters, or the alcoholics, to name a few. For that, I have two things to say. What sins are we not guilty of committing in our hearts? Also, who are we to judge the weight of different sins? Now we have to go back to the church confession. Each one of us knows our own heart, and we know what we are guilty of doing. God sees everything, and instead of judging others, he wants us to love others. "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8
