Matthew 6

Sometimes church people bug me.  As a Pastor and Chaplain I get to visit many different people – many different kinds of people.  Some are truly saved and love the Lord, others are Christian because that’s how they grew up, but have no church affiliation currently, and some have no faith at all.  I love working with everyone.  Each new day, each new person brings different challenges to listen to, different questions to ask, but one Lord to point everyone to for help.  Sometimes I pray, sometimes the person I am with and I both pray, and sometimes the prayer is said silently as I’m leaving the room.  Some are more challenging that others, but truly God has given me a love for each person I meet.

But there is one group of people that bug me.  I can tell pretty quickly if someone falls into this group.  When I walk into a room, I do a quick assessment of how many meds the patient is on, whether IV or pill bottles.  I also look around to see if there are pictures or flowers lying around to get an idea of what kind of support this patient might have (now don’t get me wrong, some families send flowers in place of bringing themselves to visit – so this isn’t a hard and fast judgment).  As I take a quick look around, I always ask how they are doing.  If the person responds, “I’m doing ok, praise the Lord,” but I can see the grimace on their face and the pile of meds they are taking, I’m hesitant to believe them.

Now, I know that God will bring us through the storm, but the storm is still there.  I know we are not going to get burned up, but we still have to go through the fire.  I come in to listen to people share what’s going on in their lives.  Oftentimes, I am privileged to hear stories the family never gets to hear because the individual doesn’t want to be a burden.  But I would rather spend an hour with someone who is real about their current situation than someone who is hiding behind their faith.

A few weeks ago, I was with someone like this.  I didn’t get anywhere with this individual.  This person had built up a “Christian Façade” so thick that no one could penetrate it and reach the truth.  Any time a family member came up in our conversation, the person would make an excuse why they hadn’t been by to visit or why they had been so mean the last they did.  I could see the pain, but there was no chance of forgiveness, because the problem wasn’t being addressed.  It wasn’t being brought to the light.  It was being brushed under the “Christians don’t get upset” rug and left in the darkness.  Meanwhile, this person was growing more and more bitter by the day.

I was with a different individual earlier this week that had a horrific story to tell.  A story of abuse – every type imaginable, a story of loss and grief, a story of unbelievable pain, but a story of God and His Hand continuing to move in this dear saint’s life.  This individual was being real, sharing all the ups and downs of life.  This person shared the hell that had been traveled through as well as the saving grace that had been experienced.  Through it all, this individual had been able to offer forgiveness to the ones who had caused the pain.  This person glowed with the love of Christ.

We are called to be real.  Showy Christians concern me.  It makes me wonder what is really going on behind closed doors…is it just an act?  We are also called to forgive, but if we can’t admit anything is wrong, we are unable to get to the place of offering forgiveness.  Scripture says if we forgive others, God will forgive us, but if we don’t forgive others, God won’t forgive us.  Ouch!  This is a hard pill to swallow. 

If someone has hurt you, admit it.  Admit it to yourself and I encourage you to admit it to someone else whom you trust.  Sometimes just talking something out allows forgiveness to happen.  Other times you may need to speak to the offending party and confront what they have done/are doing.  But we are called to forgive.

Now – just a side note.  Forgiving does not mean forgetting.  Sometimes we need to forgive as we flee out the front door away from an abusive spouse, never turning back.  Sometimes we need to forgive as we submit our resignation because of a volatile situation at work.  Sometimes we need to forgive as we discipline our children because we still need to train them up in what is right and what is wrong.

When in doubt, pray about it and talk to someone!

I’m praying for you!

Pastor Amy