These micromanagers of others spiritual worth and life, are often guilty of not seeing their own problem, and applying their own advice to their life. They "swallow camels" and "strain at gnats" in the words of Jesus.
What are some of these "camels" that get swallowed so easily?
- The camel of intolerance: spiritual, domestic, social, relational....you name it.
- The came of control: 'my way or the highway'
- The camel of unforgivenessa: still hauling around the baggage from hurts from 50 years ago!
- The camel of greed: me first and what I want
- The camel of stasis: "not gonna change, no way" ; Hasn't changed in 50 years and is proud of it
What are some of these "gnats" that choke them up so much?
- The gnat of agreement and peace; recognizing that there are some areas we can disagree on and still be brothers and sisters in the faith
- The gnat of partnership and cooperation: the confusion of power, control and leadership
- The gnat of forgiveness: to forgive is to forget and move on, to heal, and this they cannot do
- The gnat of giving: to place others needs and desires above self, to sacrifice like Christ for others
- The gnat of love: to love is to accept, to protect, to sacrifice, and to provide for spiritually, emotionally, phsyically, and (among friends and stranges) even fiscally at times
- The gnat of response and growth: to live is to change, grow, and develop; the Christian should not be the same person or have the same faith of 50 years ago...it should be deeper, richer, broader, more gracefilled, and knowledgeable.
What did Jesus mean by all of this camels and gnats? Think about it for a moment. Camels are known for holding a lot of water, traveling a long distance, and carrying a large load. Gnats are light and fast.
We are what we consume......are we full of camels....heavy, slow moving, weighed down with a lot of "junk" or are we quick, fast moving, efficient - gnats?
MAH
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