Will You Close the Gap?

 
God's people can get a bit high-minded if they're not careful.Throughout scripture we are taught that high-mindedness is something to be avoided.  God spoke to the Israelites regarding high-mindedness: "In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain.I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord." Zephaniah 3:11-12

The Bible warns the New Testament church against this as well: "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." 1 Corinthians 10:12  "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." Romans 12:3


But what is high-mindedness? High-mindedness can be defined as having open disdain for a person or thing while making claims or pretensions to your own superior importance, or entitlement. The Word of God is rich with examples, but let's just look at a couple: Luke 18:10-12 "Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess."

Mark 9:33-34 "And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest."

How can we tell if we are thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought? When we're first saved we feel so unworthy that we continually fall on our faces before God wondering why He ever chose to "save a wretch like me". Then something happens...we're taught to "come boldly before the throne", "be proud to be a King's kid", and so on. None of that is bad, and we should have confidence in our relationship with God, it gives us boldness to declare war on Satan and take back what is rightfully God's. I think, however, that somewhere along the line we forget from where we came. I think we become so comfortable in our relationship with God and His acceptance of us that we lose the awe of His grace in our lives. When we start looking at others and saying within ourselves as the Pharisee in Luke 18 had "Thank God I'm not like them..." it's time to bring ourselves down a notch because if it wasn't for God's grace we could be just like them, or worse.

It breaks my heart when I hear of people pass judgement on someone who has fallen into sin. The Bible clearly tells us"if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted" Galatians 6:1 In other words, help the person overcome the sin they've fallen into, don't sit back and wonder how they could do such a thing and think you're better than they are because you will be opening yourself up to fall as well.

Not only should we keep a spirit of meekness so we do not fall into temptations, but also so we are available to minister to those who have fallen into sin. If your heart is hardened against those less spiritual than you, God cannot use you to restore others to a relationship with Him. Let us remember that "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" Isaiah 64:6 and stay humble so that when God is looking for someone to be a restorer of the breech we are readily available. I remember a sermon I heard about the "Disciple Spirit". The disciples tried to keep the filthy sinner away from Jesus, didn't want Jesus to be bothered with such riff-raff, but that is the very reason Jesus came to earth! The disciples were busy fighting amongst themselves about who was better...God is no respecter of persons!

Jesus commanded us to love one another (John 13:34) and Paul further teaches us that charity is the most important character for us to have as Christians (1 Corinthians 13). Jesus forgave those who mocked Him, denied Him, crucified Him, yet we chose to stand in judgement of who should and shouldn't be a recipient of God's grace? Why shouldn't those who chose the homosexual lifestyle receive our prayers? They need deliverance from a life of sin, just like many others. Why shouldn't the child of God who fell away receive prayer for restoration? God's grace is longsuffering, they could fall away again and again and still be worthy of our prayers for the salvation of their souls! How dare we withhold prayers for a dying soul! God is searching for a people willing to overlook human faults and reach out to a dying world! “I looked for someone to stand up for me against all this, to repair the defenses of the city, to take a stand for me and stand in the gap to protect this land so I wouldn’t have to destroy it. I couldn’t find anyone. Not one. So I’ll empty out my wrath on them, burn them to a crisp with my hot anger, serve them with the consequences of all they’ve done. Decree of God, the Master.” Ezekiel 22:30 & 31 ~ The Message

Will you be that person God is looking for? Will you love the unlovable? Apply the balm of God's love to the broken? God, give us a heart like Yours! Open our eyes to the needs of others! This is not about you and me, this is about a dying world...I must decrease so He can increase!