On Human Respect. 5/6/18
Recently, my dear mother went home to the Lord. I boarded my flight to Egypt and spent eleven days there with my family. It was a time of weeping, sharing, disappointments, misunderstandings- all the human emotions that come into play at such a sad time. Upon my return, it was ‘back to the old grind’-=back to normal, as it were, but still an ache in my heart after Mom.
The burden on my heart is the cry of Isaiah of old: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who change darkness into light, and light into darkness, who change bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter.” (Isaiah 5, 20) My Mom is now with the Lord; yet, sin continues on the earth-the same as before. It does not matter if it is Egypt or the USA. I see people serving the Lord - as the expression goes: "Talking the talk and not walking the walk.” There are pastors, leaders, workers in ministry, etc. who support what is wrong, rather than what is right for the sake of appearance.
Jesus knew well what was in man’s heart. The Gospel of John says it clearly in Chapter 2,24-25: “For His part, Jesus would not trust Himself to them because He knew them all. He needed no-one to give Him testimony about human nature. He was well aware of what was I man’s heart." Jesus often took the Pharisees to task when they cared more about what men thought of them than of what God thought of them. Matthew 24, 13 says: “Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, you frauds! You shut the doors of the kingdom of God in men’s faces, neither entering yourselves nor admitting those who are trying to enter.” They thought more about their knowledge of the law than the needs of their people. They were more concerned about what others thought of them -how they appeared before men-forgetting the all-seeing eye of God.
There are many among us who see wrong and say nothing. Are we, then, in the category of Isaiah who prophesied centuries ago? (Isaiah 5, 20). Are we afraid of losing our ministry, our job, our friendships, our reputation, our sense of human respect? Do we say to ourselves, "What will people think of me if I speak up
and stand for the truth?” Even in our local streets lately, there are billboards that say, “If you see something, say something!”
and stand for the truth?” Even in our local streets lately, there are billboards that say, “If you see something, say something!”
Some of us feel abandoned for speaking the truth. Saint Paul was one who always spoke the truth of Jesus, the Gospel of the Lord, the ways of the Lord, no matter how much he was criticized and rejected. His love for Jesus was real; he was truly an apostle of the Lord, Jesus the Christ. From prison, he wrote to Timothy: “You know that all in Asia, including even Phygelus and Hermogenes, have turned their back on me. May the Lord have mercy on the family of Onesiphorus because he has often given me new heart and has not been ashamed of me, even in in my chains." (1 TImothy 1, 15-16)
So, dear brothers and sisters, let us not be ashamed of speaking the truth of the Gospel. Let us pray for each other and let us reach out to receive the peace of the Holy Spirit Who guides us in our coming and our going and in our speech which is anointed of the Lord, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!
