I apologize for not getting back to your thread sooner, Glo. :)
format_quote Originally Posted by
glo
One thing which struck me was the author's comment that some of Jesus' instructions seemed paradoxical and very difficult to put into action together.
In particular these two:
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.
And
Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.
When I read these two, I see nothing that causes a paradox that is difficult to put into action. I will explain further.
When we are told to "
hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled," this statement refers to actions in our own life. It is a standard for us to aspire to on a personal level. It is not our duty to expect righteousness from others. The hunger and thirst for righteousness comes from within. Proverbs 21:21 says, "
He who follows righteousness and mercy, finds life, righteousness, and honor." In Proverbs 10:3 we read, "
The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish..."
When we talk about "
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy," this statement refers to our dealings with others. We are called to show mercy to others. Even though we hold our own selves to a standard of righteousness, we must recognize that each individual is at different places in their spiritual journey and we must show mercy to others in our dealings with them. One aspect of righteousness is to be merciful. Psalm 37:21 says that, "
the righteous show mercy." And to he who shows mercy, God will also show him mercy. Psalm 18:25, "
with the merciful, you will show yourself merciful." An example of this concept can be seen in Proverbs 14:21 & 19:17,
"But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he" & "He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given." But it is not just the poor that we must have mercy on.
format_quote Originally Posted by
glo
I observe some people in my life, who are very good at teaching and preaching about morality and avoiding sin … but often hand in hand with that attitude goes being harsh and judgemental of others.
Then I observe other people, who are compassionate and understanding of people who act sinfully and fall short of the moral laws … sometimes so understanding that they forget to point out the mistakes and teach about moral values.
So my question is, how easy/possible is it for us to strike the right balance between teaching what is right and at the same time being compassionate towards those who get it wrong (bearing in mind that we are all in that boat, and that we all get it wrong, at least from time to time – I know I do!)?
The balance comes from recognizing that the two are not contradictory; that we must seek after righteousness in our own life, and show mercy to others. Recognizing that one part of being righteous is in being merciful.
The individuals in your first example above are often guilty of not first removing the the beam from their own eye. The very fact that they are harshly judgmental demonstrates that they have much to learn and improve in their own life.
The people in your second category are more diverse. Some of them may even fall into the trap of "we are all sinner, there is none righteous, so it's okay to live as you like." Others may not believe that way, but may have difficulty finding the balance of how to instruct others without coming off as being judgmental. And there may be some who have no desire to correct others, or who may not feel it is their place to. There may be other groups as well.
The thing is, we are called to instruct others in righteousness. Proverbs 24:11-12 says, "
Deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “Surely we did not know this,” Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds? " This passage instructs us to hold back those who we see that are headed on the path of destruction. It is our duty to stop them. To say "we did not know this" and turn a blind eye can cause judgment to come upon us for failing to perform a part of our duty. But we are not held responsible for their sin.
Matthew 18:15-16 gives instructions for how to deal with a brother who sins against you, but it is also important to note that immediately following that Jesus says in verse 22 that we should forgive him 70 times 7 times. (Mercy, anyone?) We are told how to approach a brother, but it is not mandatory that we do it. Proverbs 19:11 "
man's glory is to overlook a transgression." Forgiveness and mercy are important even if we are wronged directly by someone. The parable in Matthew 18 of the man who had been forgiven a great debt, but then turned around and demanded payment fro a small debt is a good example of how we must show mercy to others, as we also have been given mercy.
One of the most important things to note is that we also must use wisdom in discerning who we speak to and how. Proverbs 9:7-9, "
He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, and he who rebukes a wicked man harms himself. Do not rebuke a scoffer lest he hate you. Rebuke wise men and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will still be wiser. Teach a just man and he will increase in learning." In Matthew, Jesus gave instructions for how we should approach a brother who has sinned against us. But who is our "brother"? We loosely call each other brother and sister, but the word implies a type of kinship relationship. The relationship must be there. Ideally, we should be able to go to any brother and offer correction, but problems arise when this happens, because often we know nothing about the individual. When there is a relationship in place, then you can correct the person in love and you should know the person well enough to know how to approach the subject. This is not a guarantee that the individual will listen, but it can help. If an individual is not receptive, then there comes a time to walk away.
Finally, we must always be open to instruction and correction from others. Proverbs 21:11, "
when the wise are instructed, they receive knowledge." Proverbs 19:20, "
Listen to counsel and receive instruction that you may be wise in your later days." If we are going to approach others with help, we must also be open to receiving that same help. When someone approaches us we should take the opportunity to examine our own life. Initially our porcupine quills might come us, but we must resist reacting in a negative manner. The individual may be wrong, but we also may be wrong when we approach others. Often what we see in others tells us more about ourselves.
If I made zero sense, then forgive me! It is 4:20 a.m. and I had no sleep this night. :) It was one of those insomnia nights, so I decided to take advantage of it and write this post. LOL