February 17, 2012 So, what does it matter to you?

John 21:20-22  Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me.

 

Funny, how we find it so easy to check out what God is doing is someone else's life, and what other people are doing in relation to God - measuring ourselves by that standard. I had fallen into that trap in Africa, and honestly, more than once since then. True confession here - I have been made miserable thinking about other teachers, and their popularity, or other writers and their publications, or other speakers, and their following.

Then there is even the temptation to look at students , too often finding it easy to immediately judge and categorize them by their dress or piercings or tattoos, or use of language for which my mother would have washed my mouth out with soap. I remember thinking some version of this part of the verse, if not saying it, "And what shall this man do?" comparing my own walk and blessing or attention to theirs, completely missing the point.

It really doesn't matter what others do, or what God does in relationship to them. I need to keep my eyes on Him, to follow Him, not my peers in the Christian or the pop culture worlds. As soon as I get distracted by what is going on in the lives of others, I miss what God is doing as He pursues me.

Did you ever see a car wreck and notice how all the traffic slows down so every one else can see what happened...and then an other car wreck occurs when a driver more interested in what is happening at the side of the road rear ends the guy right in front of him? Sometimes I think we make wrecks in our lives when we get all excited or depressed about what is happening between God and someone else.

And He tells us to mind our own business, where it is safer. As I type those words, I think there is a caution. We are to consider our own works, whether they glorify God or not, but we are also to consider the lives of our brothers and sisters - do they need us, and how? Does or can God use us to bless them, to speak words of encouragement and love into their lives?

I guess it is sometimes a balancing act, the kind that you have to look at your own feet first. Then, don't look at others to judge and condemn them, but do look at others to evaluate and see how you can be a blessing to them.