Apples of Gold

A fire has been raging in our area for the last several days. Warehouses filled with nasty chemicals and probably lots of things we aren’t even aware of are engulfed. The smoke plume has spread across the city into neighboring towns, as well as crossing the river and invading the Ohio side. 

Coming on the heels of a week of extreme heat warnings, the expected release from indoor quarantine has been extended for many of us. 

The most troubling part of this to me is that this was all preventable. A small fire preceded this giant beast and was put out but not adequately monitored. If the proper steps had been taken when the first stirrings of reawakening occurred, it would have easily been contained. 

On our journey we are going to run into fire hazards. While the majority of us are well-practiced at flashing our dazzling social media smile, we each still have trouble spots that are still smoldering during our quest for Christ-likeness. 

Vigilance is required if we are to keep our fire hazards from reigniting into an uncontrolled burn. 

Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. James 3:2-5

Scripture accurately portrays our tongue as the “Most Likely to Succeed” in tripping us up. We make rash promises, respond in fear anger or frustration, blurt out harsh comments and make unfounded assumptions. While we sometimes can get away with a thoughtless word, the potential for a far more drastic outcome is always present. 

A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare. Proverbs 15:1

That split second before we respond to an aggressive approach holds tremendous power. Our pride goes to war with our compassion. Do we give them what we believe they deserve or do we give them what God consistently gives us?

See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. 1 Thessalonians 5:15

The word translated “try” contains a much broader charge. Some of the meanings are to make to run or flee, run swiftly to catch a person or thing, to be mistreated. The idea is that we not only refuse to escalate the situation, we actively pursue the opportunity to snuff the spark and eagerly seek reconciliation. 

That is NOT easy. I can picture the “but’s” forming as we assume our situation has an exemption. I don’t see space for exemptions in the text. “No one” and “always” are pretty specific. 

Why is Paul so demanding in this area?

Starting a quarrel is like opening a floodgate, so stop before a dispute breaks out. Proverbs 17:14

Have you ever witnessed an overstressed dam open a floodgate to release some of the pressure? The force behind all the pent up water is enormous. Once it starts to be released there is no stopping until it has spent it’s fury.

Unfortunately, humans often function in an all too similar manner. The niceties concealing hurt, confusion and frustration can quickly dissipate and be replaced by an outburst of anger equivalent to a small volcano. 

While we might feel like pointing fingers and brandishing our wounds so all will recognize the great suffering we have incurred-we are called to give others a break. We are charged with overlooking an intentional or unintentional affront and responding as if we were just paid a great compliment. 

Our sense of justice might wince at the thought of responding in kindness. It is crucial that we realize we are not merely letting them off the hook, we must remember:

The LORD says, Am I not storing up these things, sealing them away in my treasury? I will take revenge; I will pay them back. In due time their feet will slip. Their day of disaster will arrive, and their destiny will overtake them. Deuteronomy 32:35

That reads as though God has thought this through and I need not waste my time and energy trying to do his job. 

It is also important that we remember that there are two sides to every story. The antagonist in our story may be the protagonist in their own. One of the challenges of Christianity is making everything about Jesus in a culture that screams that it should be about us.

If we truly desire to respond as Jesus would, we have some honest and thoughtful introspection ahead of us. The fire hazards in our own hearts and minds are sometimes right out in the open and obvious. More often they are concealed and cloaked. On the surface they seem like godly, righteous characteristics but when the outer wrapping is removed we see a smoldering, combustible threat. 

Monitoring our potential pitfalls allows us to avoid serious spontaneous combustion that can take a lot of work to extinguish and even more time and energy to clean up the damage. 

Create in me a clean heart, O God. And renew a loyal spirit within me. Psalm 51:10