Today’s
Scripture Reading (April 22, 2012): Genesis 23
Sometimes we are just rude. I think I see it more in the middle of
political campaigns, but I think it may just be more noticeable at those times.
Actually, a lot of what I find rude in the current campaigns are things that
were actually written long before the campaign began. We are unwilling to
accept people that believe differently from the way we believe. And we don’t
just reject their beliefs, we reject them. Maybe the height of the rudeness is
when we make graphic predictions of the way that others will live, or of the
judgment that awaits them if they continue to live the way that they do. Oh, we
believe that we have right on our side, but often we do more damage than good.
Part of the problem is that we have forgotten who it is that we are
supposed to judge. Our lives are supposed to be lived in attitude of love, but
if there is a need to judge someone - we only judge those inside the church (1
Corinthians 5.) Unfortunately, we tend toward the reverse. We judge the way
people live who have never made any kind of commitment to Jesus Christ – and that
is wrong.
When Sarah dies, Abraham is in the land of the Hittites. The Hittites
and Abraham had different belief systems. And maybe one of the most challenging
beliefs that Abraham had was that one day the land of the Hittites would be the
land of Abraham. And he believed and served the God that had made that promise
to him. The Hittites on the other hand believed in a pantheon of gods dominated
by what are called the Storm gods. And chief among the Storm gods was the god
Tarhunt – the god of the sky and often depicted as carrying a lightning bolt in
his hand. The religious differences were huge, and yet Abraham still was able
to politely bow to the kindness of the Hittite elders.
We may differ in belief systems with those around us, but there are
never any excuses for us to react rudely to the opinions of those around us, no
matter what it is that they believe. Being polite to those that differ from us
is part of reacting to the world in love. And the only ones that should be held
to the standards of Christ are those of us that claim to follow him.
Tomorrow’s
Scripture Reading: Genesis 24
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