Protest

“The lady doth protest too much” is a line from the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. So what is it doing in a Christian blog?

This phrase is typically quoted to suggest that someone is strongly denying something or hiding the whole truth,or to imply doubt in another person's sincerity. It can become obvious when a Christian deliberately becomes very vocal against something or someone, and you can easily see that there is some insincerity being expressed. A simple example are those adolescent expressions that you really don’t like that girl because she annoys you, when it is evident to all around that you really, really like her a lot! The speaker thinks they are covering their feelings, but no one is convinced.

When we repeatedly go on and on against the same people or things, we risk being seen as insincere. We also come across as shallow, not being able to see that there may be some value to someone, to that “false teacher’s” life and work. We become good at picking out the faults in other people, but not noticing our own, or worse still thinking that our sins are less significant to a Holy God which gives the green light to being ‘the judge of all’. That title is already reserved by God as recorded in Genesis 18:25 where it says: Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?

Shakespeare highlighted this flawed character trait in his play around 400 years ago, and the issue is as important today. He was showing a very human flaw, but we can see the direct parallel to the life of some very vocal Christians around us. Maybe the solution is to be less outspoken about the faults of others, lest we ourselves are seen as protesting too much. Put simply, Jesus said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

It is worth noting the one that Jesus said had the sawdust in his eye, and the one who had the plank. Remember it this way, ‘the Pointing Person has the Plank’. Our Saviour calls it right!

Quiet Time

There are many times we need to have a ‘quiet time’ in the Word of God and prayer. When I became a Christian at an early age, I was encouraged to make a regular ‘quiet time’ at some point during the day. It works because it makes us focus on God more clearly, and not on the other things that are happening around you, and especially those things that demand your personal attention.

Can I suggest there is another kind of quiet time, which is not so positive? I find myself going ‘quiet’ when something troubles me, or needs a lot of thought, or perhaps some kind of action or intervention which I am not happy about. Have you seen that trait in others? Have you maybe even seen it in yourself sometimes? Thankfully, this ‘quiet time’ does not happen often, but that fact alone can make it all the more significant in our life.

When that usually bubbly, chatty, bright friend or family member goes quiet, don’t judge harshly. They are not necessarily being rude or deliberately cutting you out. They may be struggling with a tough situation or circumstance, and are not too sure how to handle it for the best. If you consider yourself to be a trusted friend, let them know gently that you are there for them, and to listen. That’s all that may be needed, a listening and sympathetic ear.

I would suggest that the best listening ear is the one we use in the first kind of ‘quiet time’ above. God is our supreme trusted friend and He is a good listener. Not only that but His words of advice or caution will always be trustworthy. So, when your friend has gone quiet and you don’t feel able to step in and help, then pray for them. And one last, but important thing. Tell them you are praying. That tells the one who is troubled that you have noticed their plight, and are taking it to the highest authority in your own ‘quiet time’.

My Responsibility

But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required. Luke 12:48 NLT

We know ourselves best, and no one knows us better. No one except God that is! I like the fact that we serve a reasonable God who doesn’t expect more of us than we are capable of doing or can handle. When we start out on this journey of faith, we know little, and if we stumble our God grants mercy and grace, and doesn’t rush to judgement. However, when we are mature Christians, God expects better from us than the occasional thoughtless stumble.

Our Pastors, teachers and leaders have our respect, but with that respect comes responsibility. As a shepherd of a flock, whether a megachurch or a small group, the Pastor must earn, and continue to earn, the respect of those he or she leads. It is one thing if a young Christian does something wrong as our verse says, but it is another thing entirely if the leading shepherd who has been entrusted with the care of the flock, knowingly steps out of line and fails. That action has a ripple effect across the few or many of his or her flock.

But I am not off the hook as a mature Christian, with many years of Bible knowledge and experience behind me. It is also important that I behave as an example to others, and don’t knowingly do anything wrong, but it goes the other way too. I cannot ignore the misdeeds of someone more senior in the faith, or in my church. That would include Pastoral leadership, after all it wouldn’t be the first time that a well respected leader has fallen short of their known responsibility and led someone (or many) astray by words, example, or both.

Let me be honest here. I do not like the burden of responsibility I feel being caught in the middle. Staying silent only stays the day of reckoning when more damage may have been done, but speaking up makes enemies of the very ones you had held in high regard, and many still will, so there is a cost. However, I go back to the verse for today which reminds me of my responsibility: “when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.” That applies to us all to some degree or other. Are you up to it? Am I??

Unseen

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:18

Do not say a person is guilty by what you see. Be sure you know when you say what is right or wrong.” John 7:24

How do you deal with the unseen? Truth is, you can’t in most cases, unless, that is, you are very close to the person you know well who is very different inside, from the personna displayed and portrayed on the outside. We all put a face on at times. It may be a ‘telephone voice’, a happy smile hiding a broken heart, or an an outgoing lifestyle hiding a deep insecurity or shyness. Sadly and unfortunately, the unseen can also be the dark inner heart of one pretending to be a Christian. I know from experience how easy it is to ‘go through the motions’ of churchianity.

The truth is, it’s not down to how we look or sound on the outside. If the heart is right with God, there will be an outflowing of ‘doing’ what Jesus would approve in Godly action. The old saying “The proof of the pudding is in the eating”, is borne out in the words of Psalm 34:8: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!”

(Jesus said) “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. Matthew 7:21

Heavenly Minded?

So anyone who thinks they are standing strong should be careful that they don’t fall.

1 Corinthians 10:12

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

My mum had a saying that went, “The bigger they are, the harder they fall”, and in a way that sums up these verses. I also suggest that Alexander Pope hit the nail on the head when he said, “A little learning (knowledge) is a dangerous thing”. Every gathering has an expert on any given subject, and most of the time they give themselves higher plausibility than they are worth. In the army, they are known as “Barrack room lawyers”, and they will profess to know everything and pass judgement on just about anything and anyone.

Respect is something that is earned, and does not happen overnight. You do not give it to yourself. Respect is conferred ON you by others. The folks who know everything, tend to be seen as a bit of fun, but they are not usually respected. The kind of person who resists passing easy judgement on a subject or person too quickly, is one who has been taught well, and has learned a lot over a long period of time.

In the verses above, both Paul and Solomon are wise and respected by their peers. Paul spent years learning at the feet of one of the wisest and most clever in his day, Gamaliel and spent about three years in his own wilderness. The wisdom of Solomon was conferred directly by God himself. Both can be trusted in the things they say and teach, which is more than can be said about some of today’s teachers that you will find on the internet under the guise of Bible interpreters of note. As my dad said more than once to me, “pen and paper will accept anything”. Today, we would translate that as, “don’t believe everything you read and see on the internet”. Dad was wise beyond his earthly years!

The time will come when people will not listen to the true teaching. But people will find more and more teachers who please them. They will find teachers who say what they want to hear. People will stop listening to the truth. They will begin to follow the teaching in false stories. 2 Timothy 4:3,4