Who shall be able to stand?

There is a human characteristic flaw we all share, that seeks to silence those we do not like or with whom we disagree.

By silencing their voice we are no longer affected by what they have to say.
We disqualify them in our own minds thus silencing their words in our world.

We do this with those with whom we disagree-
With those we do not like-
and those who have let us down.

It is a form of intellectual assassination
It also a form of self protection,
it protects us from the light of their words,
which might challenge our own thinking.

Let's look at a few biblical charters-


Abraham
He and Sarah did stagger at the promises of God through unbelief when they devised a plan to help God out. Enter Ishmael.
Abraham lied to Abimelech, putting the kings life in peril

Was Abraham a perfect parent?-
No, - he wasn't.
Do you think Isaac knew about Abrahams failures? -
yes, - I believe he did.
Did Abraham conduct himself with enough integrity to be followed?

Obviously he did!
Isaac willingly followed him up the mountain and was willingly tied to the altar

Could Isaac have disqualified his father from being able to speak to him?
Yes -
and in disqualifying him, he would have missed the revelation from God upon the mountain.

Isaac was willingly tied to the altar by an unperfected man.

I think it is noteworthy that God looking back over Abrahams life said "he staggered not at the promises through unbelief", when he so obviously did. Gods grace looked beyond his failures. What a word of hope we all can take from this. We want and need this in our lives, but do we extend this same measure of grace to those with whom we have fallen out with?

Let's look at a few more people,

Jacob was a liar and a manipulator-

Joseph was a braggart -

Moses had a stuttering problem-
Ran away from trouble-
And had an inflated sense of self importance as a young man
What young man doesn't?

Gideon was afraid-

Samson was a womanizer

Rahab was a prostitute-
A foreigner-
Had a different skin color-
More than likely her mannerisms were crass considering her trade.

Jeremiah was too young

David had an affair and was a murderer

Jonah backslid and ran from the call of God-

Naomi was a backslider-
She felt she had been judged by God-
"Call me bitter...."

Job went bankrupt-

Noah was a drunk-

One of Noah sons came in to mock him-
Thus destroying his fathers voice in his life-

The other son, would not so much as look upon his fathers nakedness,
Backing in and covering him-
Thus preserving his fathers dignity-

Some of these people make up the heros of faith in Hebrews the 11th chapter.

If they were in a position of leadership, we could disqualify each one of them, thus silencing their voice in our world.


God said of them, "these all died in faith.."

Hero's of the faith...

"For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners."

Even John the baptist was not exempt from this attack-
"John had a devil"

And Jesus, the meek and lowly one-
Jesus the spotless lamb of God

"Jesus was a glutton and a winebibber"

To those who sought to destroy his voice in their lives,
even He was not above reproach -

There is no one safe from this spirit-
It robs us of the influence of their voice-
It destroys the bonds of faith-
It destroys the family of God

We silence the young for they are too inexperienced-
They display a spirit of confidence, that is unique to youth-
"Thus they must be proud-"

We silence the elder as the insecurities of old age set in-
We look back over his life, and begin to make a list of his faults and failures-
"Thus he must be evil-"

We silence those who believe less than us for they are a "liberal"

We silence those who believe more than us for they are "extreme"

By the time we are done disqualifying men, who is left standing that can speak to us?

It is not the attack of the devil that silences the voices in our world-
It is our own doing-

"if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed"

An attack on the voice of another is an attack on my own world.

Thank you for reading, your comments are always welcome....

I hope this challenges you as it has me.

Lm




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad