STOP THROWING PEOPLE AWAY

Posted by: Adam McLane There is something going on in church culture that I can’t stand. And it’s something I think we really need to change. And it is something we can change right now, in this moment.

It’s this.

We have a tendency to throw people away because they do or say or write one thing we don’t like.

One thing. A moment. A blog post. A book. A sermon. A prison stint. A bad habit. Or even something they didn’t do but we think they should have in a Monday morning quarterback kind of way.

Gone. That person is trash. I’m going to trash that person. For life. And hate them. For ever. I’m on Team Hate That Person for the rest of eternity.

Really? One thing.

We need to stop this. People of the King: We look like fools, not peacemakers.

The world knows us as a people of hatred. Last time I checked Jesus didn’t call us to hate each other...

Let’s face it. Every single person in the world could do something you aren’t going to like at one point in their lives. We are a broken people. We have a natural tendency to hurt and be hurt by people.

And yet we walk around with these little litmus tests all day. A guy cut me off on the freeway? I hate him and wish he were dead. I don’t know him but I hate him? Are you kidding me? That’s a person doing something you’ve done. And you hate them?

Ludicrous.

We need to bathe in grace. And we need to carry around an aura of grace in how we interact with the world.

Let grace be our cologne as we leave the house.

Let the world know us for our gracious attitude towards those we disagree with.

We need to adapt a mindset that says we can disagree with someone, even strongly, and never hate them.

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” Romans 12:3