I guess it’s my occupation, but I’ve been thinking a lot about the holidays. There is both joy and pain in the upcoming season. Thanksgiving no doubt is relevant to our spiritual lives (1st Thessalonians 5:18) and Christmas is the obvious (Isaiah 6:9). The pain for us is family. Who can travel, who can’t, who wants to and who doesn’t blah, blah, blah. I’m sure you feel the pain. Sometimes at church we sing, What Child Is This. The song uses the old King James language in verse 2, “Why lies He in such mean estate, Where ox and ass are feeding?” I chuckle as I sing that verse, I guess it’s the little boy in me. I also thought, little Kenny Ansell needs to grow up. I heard a story about two little kids who were both given parts in a Christmas play. One little boy was a sheep, and one little girl was to play Mary. The little boy went up to the little girl and said, “I’m a sheep. It’s hard to be a sheep.” The little girl said, “It’s hard being a virgin too.”
They say if you are not the lead dog the view never changes. That again, makes me think about maturity or personal growth. It’s hard to grow up, it’s also hard to have the same view all the time. They say, “Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.” Most people are stuck. I wonder if self-righteousness has anything to do with our lack of growth? Self-righteousness manifests itself in our inability to love others, maybe, including ourselves. I have a friend who is a famous television preacher, he writes books, he is on the radio every day and if I shared his name you would probably know him, but recently he shared what someone shared with him. Here’s the pro-tip: We can’t really love anyone until we realize we are capable of the same sins that they are guilty of. In other words, we are all culpable.
In Luke 18 there’s a story about a self-righteous guy who I think probably hated everyone and everything, including himself. I doubt he was happy, and he probably drove his wife and family nuts. He was considered a religious man and when he prayed, he looked to Heaven as he looked down on others and told God, “I’m glad I’m not like other men. I do everything right.”
Another man was praying at the same time, he couldn’t look up because he recognized his failure, his prayer was, “God, be merciful to me, I’m a sinner.” Jesus says the slumped over wreck of a man went home right with God.
In Psalm 51:17 we read that, “Going through the motions doesn’t please” God. “A flawless performance is nothing to You, I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered. Heart shattered lives ready for love don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.”
Let’s all give up our self-righteous sin police badges. Last time I checked I’m not Jesus, I’m not the Holy Spirit and I’m not anyone’s mother. My hands are full just getting through my day without looking down on anyone else. I know I’m too much like “other men.” I’m not grown up yet and I will probably laugh this Christmas. I don’t know much but I do know there’s always room at the table for one more sinner that wants to be a saint, come, so let’s grow up together.
He told me to tell you that.
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