Morning Moments

Jesus in the High Priestly prayer of John 17 says, "Father, I pray that they may be one as WE are one. Extremes are usually dangerous. Balance is always difficult. Oneness in the body is often sacrifice by preference when we do not follow principle.

Many Christians PREFER peace to purity and love to truth. But where there is not purity, there cannot be peace. And where there is not Truth, there can be no godly love. Many Christians today don't recognize danger for lack of discernment. This troubles me. There is no shame, only blame in today's society. With good intentions and often in the name of love we prefer to ignore a problem rather than deal with it.

He was accused, tried, and was ultimately convicted of a felony. He had not been very active in church, but after being arrested and released on bond, his church attendance increased. He denied his guilt and so did his family, but he was convicted and I was his pastor. He came to me and ask to serve as an usher in church and I explained to him that he could not be allowed to do so because of his pending case. He was my neighbor also, and I spent many hours with him and his family seeking to minister to them from a pastoral standpoint. What made it even more difficult was that I had previously been the pastor of the accuser. With all my heart, I simply wanted to encourage him to tell the truth and I DID NOT KNOW the truth. I only knew that legally he was innocent until proven guilty, but of course, the accuser's family had already determined his guilt. I was in a difficult situation and had friends on both sides.

I prayed much and came to the conclusion that principle was superior to personality or preference. Principle told me to minister to all of them lovingly, but to allow the court to follow due process. Each side wanted me to "prefer" their story, but principle said, "NO"! To be perfectly honest I had been closer to the accuser's family that to the family of the accused before all this happened. BUT I was his pastor and had to do what I could to get him to tell the truth REGARDLESS. I know now that he did not. But I do not regret the attempts I made pleading with him just to be perfectly honest.

Now the principle was for TRUTH to rule for my love for both parties was true, and my ministry to him and his family was pure. I refused to allow preference to prevail. I refused to allow reports to deny my discernment. I witnessed and warned without partiality. I was called to be a witness for the defense and asked by the attorney in court, "Mr. Phillips, you are a neighbor of the accused, are you not?" My reply was, "Yes sir I am." "Do you as a neighbor know of any reason to suspect the accused of this crime", he asked? My response was, "No sir, I have never heard anything in the neighborhood that would lead me to believe this man is guilty." "Thank you", he continued, "Would you believe this man when he, under oath, says he is innocent."

"Sir," I continued, a man who would tell the truth needs no oath and a man who would lie, would lie under oath." And with that he quickly dismiss me. What I said was truth in any situation, not just that one. He was sentenced to 120 years. I do not know all the details about the truth, but I do know that I did what I could not to allow preference to triumph over principle, or trust to deny truth.

Maybe things like this are reasons for my alertness to the dangers of division in the body of Christ. Some may say this and some may say that; some may feel this way, and others may feel that; but TRUTH and PRINCIPLE should be our watch dogs.

PRAYER: Lord, thank you that you judge righteously, and that you have told us to judge nothing "before the time". Help us to live in such a way that we refuse to sacrifice integrity for expedience. Teach us to sincerely love, and discerningly watch as we walk in a world that is watching us very closely. And Lord, help us to realize our reasoning can be wrong, our judgment can be partial, and our preferences can be misguided without the clear leadership of your Holy Spirit. So teach us to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the demands of the flesh.