Ostrich Ethics?

According to legend, the ostrich is said to stick its head in the sand at the first sight of danger. (For the record: no one has ever actually confirmed this occurrence, despite the popularity of this myth.)

A couple of years ago, I was riding in a windowless jeep in Africa when an 8-foot tall, wild ostrich began rapidly encroaching upon our vehicle (think more Godzilla than Big Bird), and the fear-inducing stare of this flight-challenged, yet mean-spirited bird left me wandering why an animal so well-equipped for handling conflict would cower in the face of it.

Then I came to realize that this is the way that we often are when it comes to confronting sin. Just the thought of pointing out to someone else the error of his way is debilitating. There’s no doubt about it: confronting sin is hard. But have we unwittingly embraced ostrich ethics?

Now I realize that there’s a fine line between being caring and being judgmental, but shouldn’t we love each other enough to encourage AND confront? Below are five biblical reasons that we should be willing to lovingly confront those we love:

1. The “wounds of a friends” bring healing (Pr. 27:6). Our words may sting at first, but they will, in the end, be appreciated—and facilitate the spiritual renewal that God desires.

2. We all have “blind spots” (Pr. 14:12). We all have areas in our lives that we just don’t see things clearly. That’s why God has not left us alone on this spiritual journey, but given us each other.

3. Genuine love is truthful (Gal. 4:12-16). Anyone can tell someone what they want to hear. That’s easy. But a real friend tells the truth. Even when it’s hard.

4. God may use us to bring about change (1 Pt. 4:7-10). Certainly God can get someone’s attention through a car accident or major tragedy, but he rarely does. Instead, he uses US as the “administers of his grace”.

5. We may just save someone’s life! (Jam. 5:20). How many people have fallen spiritually or emotionally because no one was willing to confront them on their sin? Why not love enough to say, “What you’re doing is wrong, and because I love you, I want to help you stop!”

May God give us the courage to confront sin and the humility to respond with grace when we're confronted.

Thinking as Worship

It has always intrigued me that when Jesus recited the Deuteronomic Shema in Matthew 22 he replaced the word ‘strength’ with ‘mind.’ “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

Well, we could easily make too much of this, and thus ignore the fact that all these elements together constitute a person’s whole being. But the inclusion of the word ‘mind’ does appear to be intentional by Jesus. (Wasn’t everything he did intentional?) R.T. France says this change perhaps emphasizes the need for our “intellectual commitment” to the Lord.

Loving the Lord our God is an intellectual exercise.

While it may sound pious and deeply spiritual to say, “I don’t know anything about God; I just know that I love Him,” this is hardly pleasing to the God who tells us to “take great pains” to garner his approval through the careful treatment of his word.

Likewise, the Apostle Paul tells us that “physical exercise is of some value but godliness has value for all things.” Godliness only comes as we wrestle with, agonize over, meditate on, and ponder the Scriptures, the grand story of redemption in which God was pleased to reveal himself to us on every page.

May God give us the grace to think. May we at Cornerstone be a thinking church, as we worship God by our songs, praises, gifts, obedience and intellectual commitment.