Biblical Confrontation

   I have been thinking about this topic for well over a year now.
   One of the great mysteries in the Church for me today is how unbelievably scarce Biblical confrontation of sin is. The Bible commands us to do this within the Body over and over again and yet  the practice is virtually extinct. What the world thinks, has so permeated the Body that most actually believe that to confront someone with their sin is unloving and unkind. If you are involved in any form of Biblical ministry, then you have worked with someone who doesn't necessarily practice what they preach. (If you haven't then you may be the person I am talking about!) And, how is that normally handled? "Well that's just how they are" "bless his heart, he must be struggling with something" "don't we all have areas where we struggle?" "this is an atmosphere of grace" Blah Blah Blah, all of these are excuses for not not confronting and it is slowly but surely destroying the testimony of the Church.
   Let me set a parallel scene, as a Mother, hypothetically. Say one of my children does something bad. (Assuming that  I am a mother who longs for my child to grow into a healthy, well disciplined, grounded Godly, man or woman who lives for the Glory of the Lord) Do I ignore what that child did? Do I tell him or her its ok? Do I make excuses for him or her? Do I pretend like I didn't see it? OR, do I confront that child immediately with what they have done and discipline them accordingly? Is there anything in my schedule more important than getting that child back on track? Do I want them to like me more than I want them in a right relationship with us and with the Lord? I hope the answers to those questions are easy and clear. But, now take a look at how we handle adults in the same situation. If we really loved each other, we would want the Biblical model of confrontation, repentance, redemption and restoration to work its way through. It is a beautiful thing! Isn't what the Lord did for us?
   I look back over my life since I became a believer and in so many areas where I struggled with sin for so long it makes me sad that someone didn't confront me. So many years dealing with things like bitterness toward someone, or the whole dessert thing, or the instant justice thing, could have been dealt with so much quicker, with fewer consequences.  Why wasn't there someone who loved me (and the Body as well, really) more than caring what I might say or do back to them if they said something. And, I know you are thinking, "yea right" but think about it. If it were common to confront each other like the Bible says to, and its done in love as the Bible says to, then we wouldn't bristle with that "how dare you!" attitude like we do now. It would be normal, and healthy and the Body would be attractive to the lost world because we are actually practicing what we say we believe.
   And, when people tell me "they just aren't the confronting type", or "that's not my spiritual gift", or "let those who are sinless cast the first stone" Blah Blah Blah it makes me so mad because it is a cop out! No one likes to confront! BUT JESUS SAID TO DO IT, SO DO IT! In love, of course :) no seriously, in love, because He first loved us enough to confront us with our sin. And then He covered it with His blood. How awesome is that? His way really does work much better than our dumb ways!
   Tim and I tried this in the recent past and it didn't go very well so I know what I am hoping is a tall order. Most everyone deals with these situations by removing themselves from it by saying "well the Lord has called me/us to other ministries" instead of telling an uncomfortable truth and they end up leaving a pile of poop for someone else to step in, instead of cleaning it up. And, by then its been tracked everywhere, and spread all over, and ground into the carpet... well you get the mental picture :) Come on people, lets clean up the poop!
 
(Tim, if you tell me to "put down that donut," I will probably only smack you the first time, keep trying, if you love me :)

Just Desserts

   I realized that in my last post that I said "just desserts" instead of "just deserves" :)  The perfect lead in to my post about those deep rooted nagging sins in our lives because it tells you what I had on my mind! I think all of us have areas where we struggle, some are easier to hide (but I think folks would be surprised at what they think is hidden but is really obvious)  than others but one of mine is easily recognizable because of the size of my jeans. I have a deep rooted, idolatrous love for all things in the carb family. I love cake, I love donuts, I love chocolate in all forms, I love warm bread smothered in butter, I , well you get it. I could try to blame it on my Dad who has a tshirt that says "I love cornbread" but since he is trim I dont think it will stick. No, this love is one of the many idols that I tend to put before my God. It sounds really bad written down... idolatry... and many would poopoo the thought of something like the love of a muffin as being idolatry but it is, to me. I am not saying it is wrong to enjoy any of these things on occasion but when it becomes a battle in my mind that I lose on a regular basis and overindulge, then I need to deal with it. Telling the world is a good start! I told one of my children recently that if you speak about your sins to someone they lose a lot of their power over you. So, I am testing it out :) And it is none too soon because I bought a family size bag of kisses yesterday!
  Lord, give me the desire to have no other gods before You and the strength and wisdom to serve You wholeheartedly!