Proverbs 6:16-19 (New International Version)

¹⁶ There are six things the LORD hates,
seven that are detestable to him:

¹⁷ haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,

¹⁸ a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,

¹⁹ a false witness who pours out lies
and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

Since it is lent, I thought I’d look at the seven deadly sins.  It is one of those Bible passages that you approach with your hand over your eyes and then you slowly part two fingers to peep and see how bad your fate is.

Mine is pretty bad.  I am guilty of all of these (apart from shedding innocent blood, although Jesus was innocent and His blood was shed for me).  They are a pretty gruesome list when you look at them all put together.  However, the one that stands out to me the most (therefore the subject of today’s post) is deadly sin number seven: “a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.”

How easy it is, to gossip about other people and to be judgemental.  It makes us feel like the plank in our eye is not quite so splintered and filthy.  It is really easy to judge people in the following areas:

- work
- relationships
- leadership
- lifestyle
- parenting
- appearance
- education

…And many more.  What we forget is that even as Christians, we have all been given free will and instructed to “Love one another, as I have first loved you”.  So actually if someone decides to feed their baby food that isn’t organic and home-made then that is up to them.  If someone else is struggling with a marriage, then you love them, don’t judge them.  If someone did not go to University, then they are still a worthy citizen.  Who are you to decide what God’s standards for love and acceptance are when God Himself, states that they are unconditional?

We have a guide book.  The Bible.  It is helpful to stand by each other as we live through what it says and suggests.  Sometimes we might question one another as to why we feel a certain lifestyle choice is in keeping with the manual, but love comes first.  If there is one thing I absolutely detest, it is FIXERS.

These people come in many forms.  They are usually laden with their own issues, cunningly disguised beneath the surface of a slightly over-zealous bubbly nervous energy.  They barely know you, but recommend all the latest Christian therapies for you (usually administered by themselves, because it makes them feel better) and strongly recommend that you need to be fixed or set free from demons or something.  Sometimes you just want to ask “Why can’t you just be my friend?”  Other times you just want to say “Naff off you weirdo!”  Fixers can be predatory, they always look for the new person in a small group/cluster and target them.  These are people who will talk about you to lots of different people, thus masking their own issues.  They often end up leading groups and “causing dissension among brothers”.

God’s character (as we are led to understand from the Bible) is mixed.  He is Love, but He also gets angry.  He is joy, but He also gets sad.  He is the judge but He is just and true.  However, we do not play His role.  We have been given His gifts, such as wisdom, discernment, prophecy, tongues, hospitality etc.  These are to be used for the extension of His kingdom, not to cause division within it.

I am still thinking….