Have you ever entered a room full of people and wondered why all eyes were on you? You feel embarrassed. You try to determine if something is wrong. You wonder if something is showing that needs to be covered! You may check to see if your zipper is down! You scramble to figure out the situation you find yourself encountering. As Christians, when everyone is watching, we find ourselves in our G.O.D. moment. God On Display. You may have been wronged, and everyone is watching and waiting for your reaction. You want to do what is right without embarrassing yourself or God. You find yourself on a spiritual stage, and a good reaction could land you the role of Jesus! You are not acting though, and you need to make Jesus the star.
This blog post is part 3 of The C.O.R.E. of Christianity. The R stands for reaction. By our reaction, we have the chance to display how much our life has been changed by God. Jesus refers to these moments in Mathew 5:13 as those when we are to be the salt of the world. From the message translation, “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt – seasoning that brings out the god-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.” So it comes down to this, if you want someone to have a taste of godliness, Jesus is telling us that it will come from how we handle ourselves in different situations.
Some reactions we have are to our real world situations and everyday experiences. These situations can be random, unexpected and momentary in nature. There are times situations arise just because you have crossed into another’s path. Other times they may come as a job loss, bankruptcy or illness. These type of events normally have an end in sight. If we fail to find relief from our situations, however, they could then become a circumstance in our life.
Embedded in the Bible are many reactions to the situations that people were facing. In Acts chapters 6 and 7, Stephen is an example of one having a godly reaction to his situation. Opposition was growing from the Jews as Stephen was sharing the “Good News” of Jesus. Stephen found himself facing false charges before the Sanhedrin. Stephen shared with them the work God had done from Abraham to the time of Solomon. The group had grown furious with Stephen. They proceeded to drag Stephen out of the city and stone him. At that moment, Stephen saw heaven open and Jesus at the right hand of God. We find Stephen’s reaction in Acts 7:60, “Then he fell on his knees and cried out, ‘Lord do not hold this sin against them.'” (NIV) What courage and boldness Stephen displayed.
One can only imagine the impact Stephen’s reaction may have had on the witnesses to this atrocity. Acts 8:1 gives some possible insight, “And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.” (NIV) This situation had to be on Saul’s mind later as he encountered Jesus in Acts 9, while he was traveling on the road to Damascus. Jesus saved Saul from his sins, and he would become the Apostle Paul and face many of the same situations that Stephen found himself facing.
Next, let’s look at an example of a bad reaction to a situation. Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem. A Samaritan village refused passage through for Jesus. We find this in Luke 9:51-56, “As the time approached for him to be taken up into heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was headed to Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, ‘Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?’ But Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they went to another village.” Jesus had the foreknowledge to know that calling down fire would only destroy those who would receive the Gospel message later on in Acts chapter 8. If we could only think all the time how much damage we might do to those that may later become saved.
Unlike situations or life circumstances, mistreatments usually are not random, but more targeted toward us. The perpetrator is likely somebody we know. It could even be a friend or an acquaintance with which we have a good relationship. Mistreatments are often verbal in nature, making us feel like somebody has it in for us. They can come to the forefront when something does not meet our expectations. We develop a sense of not being fairly treated. Examples could be being passed up for a job promotion, poor service in a restaurant, or just unkind words sent our way. We feel our worth has been violated.
Scripture gives us some insight on how to handle mistreatments. In Mathew 5:38- 42, “You have heard it was said, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth,’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn from the who wants to borrow from you.” (NIV) You might think, “Seriously Jesus? Why?”
Jesus shows it is better to take it from someone than to dish it out to them and miss the only chance we may have to share the gospel. Our worldly instincts are to retaliate and fight back. Our godly instincts should be to love our enemies, not act like them. We have to remember that vengeance is the Lord’s not ours. We must be careful not to slam the door on a gospel moment.
The Bible is clear that we are to show mercy to those that mistreat us. In Matthew 18:21, Peter asked Jesus how many times we should forgive someone. Jesus answered Peter in 18:22, “I tell you not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (NIV) Jesus goes on in the next eleven verses teaching on mercy. The parable shares that a servant who owed millions to the king had his debt canceled, and that same servant tried to collect a few dollars from his own servant. The king called him out in verse 33, “Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” Then verse 35 sums it all up, “This is how my heavenly father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brothers from your heart.” (NIV)
Why does Jesus focus so much on mercy rather than forgiveness in this parable? Forgiving someone is a result of the mercy God has shown to us. If we are having trouble forgiving someone, we just need to focus on the mercy shown to us. In comparison to God’s mercy to us, we would be the servant whose sins are the equivalent of the million dollars. Therefore, we should not have any trouble forgiving a sin against us, which would be the equivalent of a few bucks.
If we fail to show mercy, then only judgement is left. In James 2:13. “…..because judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” (NIV) We must show mercy to others, or….. well….. I do not want to find out what happens if we don’t!
During our reaction, we must be careful, because our words can be evil. James 3: 5-6, “Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and it itself set on fire by hell.” (NIV)
Finally, remember our words can be negative if we do not watch our mouths. Scripture shares what should come out of our mouths. Colossians 4:6, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you know how to answer everyone.” (NIV) Keep this in mind, as seasoning adds flavor to a steak, our words should add to a person’s life. Just as you can ruin a good piece of meat, we can ruin a person by the poor choice of words we can use.
Ephesians 4:29, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (NIV) If you do not have something good to say, it is better to say nothing at all. Sometimes fewer words are more beneficial.
In conclusion we get these final warnings from scripture on the words we chose to speak, James 1:19, “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” (NIV) In addition, in Mathew 12:36, we find these words of Jesus, “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.” (NIV) We need to watch both our life and our mouth very closely. Remember that our reactions are a CORE part of Christianity.