Is It Worth It?
As far as I know, two men who never knew each other had a lot in common. I believe that there are many who also may have a lot in common with them.
The first man I am thinking of has already left us. Fairly late in life, he enjoyed a good relationship with the Lord and with members of the Lord’s church.
It was not always that way.
Although he had been baptized fairly early in life, he spent most of his adult life estranged from the Lord and His people. After a lot of prayer for him and as a result of some good influences in his life, he was restored.
The second man is one with whom I recently had an interesting conversation. He is the son of a preacher. He, himself, is the director of a school of preaching. He is doing some great things for the Lord and has plans to do more.
It was not always that way.
While still living in the home of his parents, he had decided that, as soon as he could be on his own, he would also be “through with church.” Thankfully, an elder and a preacher reached out to him at a crucial time in his life.
What do these two men who never knew each other have in common?
In each case, the faith of an important soul was shaken. In fact, it was almost destroyed.
In the first case, a young man who was still dealing with the trauma of fighting in World War II and losing a leg during that war went to a “business meeting” in his local congregation. From what I understand, he found himself in another “war zone.” As tempers flared and unkind words were exchanged, this young veteran decided that he had already had enough conflict in his life.
As a result, many years that could have been spent serving the Lord were instead spent “bending the elbow” with people who were accepting, friendly, and (maybe most important of all) not confrontational. About the only thing he got from many of the people with whom he used to worship was a criticism of the lifestyle he had chosen.
The decision of the young man who had decided to “check out from church” as soon as he left home was strongly influenced by an incident that occurred when he was only nine years old. Apparently, there was some sort of conflict existing in the congregation where his father preached at the time. Of course, a nine-year-old boy would not know what that was all about.
What he does, however, know about was how he felt when a man walked down the aisle of the church building while his dad was preaching or teaching (I don’t remember which) and screamed some very unkind things at his father. He also remembers people “cheering on” this man and saying, “Get him, _______.”
As I’ve already indicated, each of these men overcame a huge blow to his faith. Neither man totally lost his faith, but each one had/has lifelong scars.
I’m wondering how many others can identify with these two men. I’m wondering how many people would still be serving the Lord if somebody who calls himself/herself a child of God had not behaved more like a child of the devil. I’m wondering how many people who are no longer with us never got things straightened out in their relationship with God because of something like that.
We all have our opinions. Each of us has a preference. Most of us have no problem expressing our opinions and/or defending our preferences.
How important is that? How important is it for me to “take a stand” for something that is very important to me? How important is it for me to “take a stand” if what is very important to me is not based on what I read in the Bible? What if it is only important to me, but not important to the Lord?
There are many ways to encourage people to think seriously about the importance of a preference or opinion. One of the more common ones I’ve heard is usually stated this way:
“Is this the hill I want to die on?”
I think that there is another question I need to ask myself. In fact, I think it is even a better question to ask.
“Is this worth putting the faith of somebody else in jeopardy and, in the process, putting my own soul in jeopardy?”
Before I confidently and adamantly “make my case” for something, I would do well to consider the impact that my actions may have on somebody else. I need to pause and ask myself,
“Is it worth it?”
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AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
Photo background credit: j t on Creative Commons
