Kindness for the controller

𝙅𝙤𝙝𝙣 11:21 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙖 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨, “𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙, 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙙.”

The would/could/should haves – part of our entitled commentary to God about our take on life after events happen. While it’s perfectly understandable and good to review things that went wrong in order to prevent them from going (as) wrong next time, it’s presumption to read God the riot act. We simply don’t have the equipment or certainly the authority to instruct the Lord of our lives as to how things SHOULD have gone.

For Martha, this was completely in character. Though she followed this statement with “But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” (v 22), that was a self-perceived consolation to the sovereign will of Martha. This was the person who bossed her family around – taking umbrage that her sister Mary would not help her do her frantic, frenetic (and never ending) preparation, cleaning and (re)ordering of things for the guests. No, said Jesus, you can be like that, but Mary will certainly be allowed to sit and listen regardless.

It’s miraculous Jesus did up upbraid Martha – cut her down to size and knock her off her high horse. But he did not. As always, Jesus knew what was in a person, and Martha was hurting inside. We have no history regarding her past, but the need for control and intolerance of things not going according to plan is well understood even in our own lives. Martha had just lost her brother. Among the spectrum of things going wrong, that would be a biggie. Her pain in watching a loved one get sick and die is a well-known human experience. One of the earliest expressions of grief is anger – which blames. There’s little question that Martha had seen loss, along with personal criticism and shame. She felt things deeply.

It would seem a suitable emotional reaction to put Martha in her place, to let her know how selfish her manipulative control really was. But Jesus didn’t do that and it’s remarkable. Instead, Jesus grieved with her and then showed real sovereignty – that of Almighty God – and raised her brother Lazarus from the dead. That’s how God moves in the lives of the bossy, controlling, bullying people – shows them goodness in the dearest way.

It is so easy to sting back the people who dig and weasel and push and scratch their way into ordering your life according to THEIR program. Jesus shows what they need. Hardly acquiescence to their insistent wranglings but kindness in spite of them and in response to them. As usual, Jesus turns the world upside down and heals it. He’s glorious.

Logs and specks

Luke 6:42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

Fault-finding putdown artists are actors (hypocrites), says Jesus.  They have no intention of facing up to their own shortcomings, but only delight in point those out in others.  There is a preadolescent mindset that begins with the discovery that demeaning others makes one feel powerful and superior.  It’s a lie, says the Lord, for it leaves out the most important ingredient of all – humility.

Motives are cleansed by allowing God to convict and correct.  The trouble is that fault-finders cannot distinguish conviction and condemnation.  They count on condemnation disqualifying and eliminating others, so they cannot allow any scrutiny to be applied to their hearts or lives.  No, says Jesus, “first take the log out of your own eye” – let the truth penetrate your life, be forgiven and freed, THEN you will understand conviction and freedom for others.  At that point, when you remove THEIR speck, it will be out of love and desire for their best.

The teaching does NOT negate care to remove other’s specks.  My own log – however huge and ugly – does not make me unable to help others with their (albeit smaller) issues.

If I am in the business of the putdown of others, I then need to ask about my own state before God.  I can trust this – it’s a leading indicator of my own need for conviction, forgiveness, cleansing/healing and freedom.  If and when my motives are pure – that is, I am no hypocrite but instead fully acknowledge my own imperfection and struggles – I can love people enough to confront them with things they may not see in themselves.  For it’s no mistake the analogy involves the organ through which we see – we cannot see through a speck.

I rejoice in the freedom God gives me and all his children.  It never comes without struggle and the first person’s struggle I deal with is my own.  And then there is victory for us all!

Cry of the beggar

Mark 10:48-49 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.”

Bartimaeus was a blind beggar.  His trade was dictated by his physical state; there was no program to help the poor and afflicted in Roman-occupied first century Israel.  As part of the beggar-underclass of people, he was very used to raising his voice for alms and any mercy that he could get to come his way.

There’s also little doubt that Bart knew about Jesus – one who didn’t just give alms but who healed blindness itself.  If that could happen, his entire life would change radically.  He could be a productive person.  It’s hard to consider all the possibilities and plans he had imagined for his entire life that could transpire if he could only see.

But when he raised his voice, calling on the “Son of David” – a well-known name for Messiah, that those around him thought he was only begging as usual.  They told him to be silent, thinking perhaps that common beggars had no business involving Jesus.  Begging was not his intent, though, and their chiding and squelching his voice had the net effect of keeping him blind and poor.  Their pushing him out of the way was oppressive and cruel.

Jesus stopped and would ask him what he wanted.  Bart could’ve asked for great riches, to have his calluses healed or anything else.  He asked to see.  And see he did.

Do I

1. Assert myself when I have a real need only Jesus can meet?  Bartimaeus gave voice to the yearning of his heart and would not be silenced.  Do I do that, or slink back into a beggarly life of want?  Can the voices of others, perhaps bothered by my very presence, shout me down and scoff me underfoot?  Hear the (perhaps annoying) cry of the poor man, O my soul!  Do not be silenced!
2. Find my myself among the annoyed, insisting the loud beggar cease his/her rantings?  For sure there is dysfunctional entitlement.  But there is also a need to be heard and listened to.  Do I listen?  Do I pause to hear the stories of the poor one?  Or do I instead call his/her voice a distracting bother, with no substance behind the noise that fills my ears?  O my soul, learn to listen, for the stories you’ll hear will inform all mercy and wisdom.

So be it.

Generosity and Labor

Matthew 20:15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’

The master of the field had decided to give equal wages to all his workers no matter how long they had worked.  The ones who had been at it the longest were upset by this, since they only earned the same as those who had worked a few hours.  It was a labor dispute.

Then the master replied with the questions above.  There are 2 aspects to his words:

1. The protesting workers had been paid what they had agreed, but considered that they had control of what all others were paid.  They wanted equal pay for equal work but the master decided differently.  At the heart of that is an assumption that they thought the money was theirs to distribute, not his.
2. The master’s intent was generosity.  In a day and in a place where people lived hand to mouth, a day’s wages would ensure a family ate that night only.  He wanted no one to starve.  Nobody in the story was lazy, they were just unemployed, even into the late afternoon.

For 1., state-level socialism does in fact remove ownership of fields and the wherewithal to pay workers from society.  The state is the master and its wages and conditions are engineered and metered.  The workers get their way – equal pay for equal work.  Except that corruption invariably creeps in and work ethic degrades because there is no reason to work well or even care about one’s toil.  There is no advancement and there is no reward for extra diligence.

Ownership of resources allows for incentivizing good attitude and extra work.  If a “master” grows in wealth, his/her resources can be re-invested in people and entities that will continue to grow.  Greed notwithstanding, the organic seeding of resources has the often-realized potential of causing people and corporate entities to thrive.  Individuals can accumulate wealth as well, becoming “masters” in their own right; it’s part of the system. 

As a follower of Jesus, I believe all I have belongs to God.  Not a few times have people accused and insinuated that I need to give here or there – to them or others in need.  Yet what I have is mine to steward, to pray for wisdom about how and where to give and invest.  I am allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me.

For 2., the scourge of the wealthy – their greed – is vividly exposed.  If I want to protect freedom of resource distribution and the growth of my estate and the community and nation, I MUST practice generosity.  Greed is why socialism arose and why it keeps its place as an alternative to free enterprise.  And greed is not only the practice of the well-to-do (though being greedy with a lot has larger impact).  Ten thousand mini-misers have the same effect as one wealthy one.  The workers in the story were not generous to be sure; they wanted what was coming to them and a strict limit to what the late arrivals were paid.  They did indeed begrudge the generosity of the master.

God is infinitely generous.  His reward is not “fair” as humans would compute it, but abounding in grace as an expression of unconditional love.  If I receive the free gift of salvation – and I do – I cannot with integrity begrudge the generosity of my God towards those who don’t deserve it in my eyes.  Let me learn this deeply.

Hope over human despair

𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘄 𝟭𝟵:𝟮𝟱‭-‬𝟮𝟲 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱, 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴, “𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗱?” 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱, “𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲.”

Jesus had astounded his followers by saying that only with great difficulty could the wealthy attain eternal salvation.  At the time, the religious authorities were all men of means, vaunting their wherewithal above those who were poorer.  Earthly wealth was, then, associated with heavenly destiny in the minds of the people.  Not so, said Jesus, quite the opposite.

Logically then, if the rich could not be saved, how much less those who had less?  “Who then can be saved?” was a question aimed at all humanity.  Jesus’ words had effectively disqualified everyone according to their understanding.  The disciples were expressing their despair.  It underscored how lost and hopeless was humankind.  But Jesus gazed at them when they asked it to focus his answer directly to their fear. 

Salvation was and is impossible with humanity’s reason and work.  We don’t earn heaven, God grants it.  All things being possible with God leaves no one out of redemption’s reach.  It is no statement of universal salvation but one or universal invitation and opportunity. 

Salvation is only one of many things people cannot do.  And certainly, people disqualify each other.  People even damn each other.  Not so with God, who desires that no one perish. 

Believing that all things are possible with God should change me as it should change anyone who believes it.  Is my prayer life in sync with this fact?  Do I develop faith that God will do what only God can do?  Do I persist in that faith? 

The draw of hopeless humanity is ever present and accusing, pulling down hope and the great expectations that God would engender.  The impossible riddle goes deep for it is exactly the hopeless ones that God wants to bring his Kingdom.  Yet, they rehearse and practice hopelessness and downward progression.  Let me be encouraged in my faith to counter with love.  In Jesus’ name.

Bring me through

Job 1:8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

The heavenly discussion in Job 1 is unique in the Word of God.  God and Satan have it out over Job, a certified righteous individual on earth.  It is particularly unusual in that the accuser is not the one who mentions Job as a person guilty of this iniquity or that.  No, it is the Lord who brings up Job’s name.  Sometimes I’ve mused that if Job was there and knew what was going to happen, he would protest loudly – “NO!  Do NOT bring me into this conversation!”  For Job would puzzle about all the disaster and theological rankling that would follow.  In all his suffering, his biggest question would be “Why?”

Far from a boasting match between God and Satan at the expense of a poor human, we have in the book of Job a vital picture of the testing of faith.  It is Satan who makes it a petty contest.  All the while God knows his servant’s heart and even his limitations. 

I can read abandonment into the story, or abuse or oppression.  But God never abandons Job, and any abuse or oppression is on the part of the evil one.  It’s a universal script for the human condition.  For it is a constant temptation to blame God for every malady and trial I undergo.  And certainly, he allows these things in my life.  But God also knows what I’m made of – indeed, what God himself is building to this day – and knows the end from the beginning.  It is the supreme lesson of Job’s story that:

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

How could Paul, the writer of the book of Romans possibly have the assurance to say that “we know”?  Only by walking through Job-like experiences.  It’s hardly a desirable path,  but it’s part of being formed in Christ.

So I won’t be a fool and say “Bring it on!” but I will lean in and say “Bring me through!”

Expensive worship

Mark 14:4-5 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her.

At the house of Simon the (former) Leper, a woman had come forth and poured some very expensive perfume on the head of Jesus. It was a personal as well as public display of affection, devotion and honor. From the container used to the fragrance it emitted, everything about the action testified to fine, expensive quality of the liquid.

Immediately some who were present had attitudes about the woman’s actions. They thought it a foolish, wasteful thing to do. The value of the perfume would have brought in significant monies to be given to help the poor. It was never their perfume, yet they seemed to claim it with their high brow charitable concerns. And by inference, they both demeaned the woman who made the offering and Jesus Himself, who received it.

Attempts to control and manipulate the actions of others are deeply arrogant and insulting. Projecting attitudes and inferiority onto others has the appearance of establishing authority and dominance of them, but it reveals a poverty of soul and often has a basis in shame. Jesus very quickly defended the actions of the woman as being devoted and prophetic. His words “The poor you will have with you always” in no way discounted charity, but pointed to the singularly appropriate nature of the pouring of the perfume.

Part of the reason for donations being kept private is to avoid this very second-guessing and accusatory judgment of those who want to decide for everyone how things are done. But when such things are NOT private, unless I am asked, let me not interject opinions or even principles of how I would do things, let alone cast judgment on the hearts of others in how manage their resources.

The breadth of ways people worship God is mine to observe in deep wonder, not to control or manage. He is worthy of it all.

Come and see

John 1:46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

Nazareth, in the region of Galilee, was far from Jerusalem, the center and capital of Israel. As a remote place, its insignificance was perhaps its most defining trait. But when Nathanael asked if anything “good” could come from there, it was a moral question. Like most nations, regional pride emphasizes the local good and the non-local bad, using whatever measures are available. We certainly have no record of conspicuous Galilean evil – the words and acts of Mary the mother of Jesus show there was certainly deep devotion to God in practice.

Philip’s reply is short but the best one to be offered to scoffers and skeptics. It echoes the Psalmist’s invitation:

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good

as indeed Nathanael would. Jesus immediately displayed miraculous knowledge of Nathanael’s life before they met, at which Nathanael named Jesus as Messiah (see verse 49).

It is not up to any believer to prove who Jesus is; because the move of the Holy Spirit on anyone’s life is God-breathed and spiritually discerned. Humanity craves reasoned understanding and banks on its scientific proofs, which are hit-or-miss at best. Reasoning would have dismissed investigating this Jesus because he was, after all, from Nazareth. And, concerning the person of Jesus Christ, one can only be invited with a “Come and see”. The rest is up to that person to both come and see.

In Nathanael’s case, coming to Jesus involved some travel. Jesus did not come to him. For others, Jesus would indeed show up on scene and on point. But truly coming to Jesus requires “being there” – actually showing up with operational senses and a willingness to perceive what Jesus will say and do.

Seeing is not only a use of one’s eyes, but of one’s spirit. When prayer or worship receives a its replies, whatever the response, identifying that there really is a loving God who hears and answers is vital to spiritual perception. Relatively speaking, Nathanael saw the physical Jesus Christ and was immediately shown a miraculous sign. Later, and unto this very day, the miraculous still occurs, but there is almost always no audible voice. Many will explain God’s interactions with people as coincidence or wishful thinking. At some frequency those arguments become too thin to carry weight, and people who’ve refused to “come and see” don’t want others to do that either.

To be sure, the erosion of faith invariably has ever-decreasing “come and see” activity and perception. The invitation, then, is ongoing and vital. Something good – VERY good- has come from Nazareth.

Investment and reward

𝗟𝘂𝗸𝗲 𝟭𝟵:𝟮𝟮-𝟮𝟯 𝗛𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝗺, ‘𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁! 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻, 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝘄? 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁?’

“Well done, my good and faithful servant” was NOT uttered for the third servant, the one with only one mina to invest. Instead, he found judgment. In his testimony, the servant said that he knew the master was a hard man, reaping where he had not sown. Basically, an oppressive, upper class slave owner. It was a false accusation, and very revealing as to his behavior in life.

What keeps God’s people faithful is not rote obedience to instruction. Faithful means “full of faith” and the good and faithful servant must believe according to

𝗛𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝟭𝟭:𝟲 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗱, 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗵𝗶𝗺.

The faith that God is good and that reward awaits investment in the Kingdom of God sustains believers. God names the reward and how and when it is dispensed. Continuing the work of employing all one’s gifts – even as they grow in number and size – and across all seasons, circumstances and trials – is the exertion of faith that saves and grows God’s Kingdom.

The accusing servant was condemned for his attitude for it had poisoned his life. There are any number of voices that would promote enablement and victimhood where simple faith takes stock of the good things – even if they are less than those of others – and puts them to productive use.

What do I have? How can I use it for God? Very simple questions whose answers and resulting actions establish my own faithfulness.

Illogical Objections

𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘄 𝟭𝟭:𝟭𝟴-𝟭𝟵 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝘆, ‘𝗛𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻.’ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝘆, ‘𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗺! 𝗔 𝗴𝗹𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗱𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗸𝗮𝗿𝗱, 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀!’ 𝗬𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀.”

Jesus was reflection on the ministry of John the Baptist and its reception among the people of Israel. There was no futility in what he said, but the resistance of the listeners revealed obstinate hearts and minds. There was nothing new in this; the prophets told of similar rejection.

When there is a message they don’t like, people will invent a reason to reject it. Their objections are usually focused on the person through whom the message came. Though the conviction conveyed makes great sense and goes to the depths of their being, they pick at the communicator.

The criticisms of Jesus vs John the Baptist contradict each other and logic would have it that if one thought John too severe for his Nazirite lifestyle, Jesus would certainly be appealing in contrast. But no, the opposite behavior was used to throw out what Jesus had said and done.

Wisdom being justified by her deeds is a statement of the veracity and importance of what had been said and done, despite all logical wranglings against it.

Do I, then, discard something based upon the speaker and his/her attributes? Even if it’s pettiness – a sin which I’ve decided judge harshly, or how the person dresses, speaks or acts, if there is a message I need to hear or wisdom I need to drink in, I must let that happen. It’s especially key to see my muddled reasoning, invented per instance, to ignore what I so needed.

For sure there are people who I will not follow closely. But if there is something I need to hear, also for sure, God will speak it through multiple mouths and media until I listen inside. That’s his love and mercy at work. Let me not demand a live concert:

𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘄 𝟭𝟭:𝟭𝟳 ‘𝗪𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲; 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗴𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻.’

but instead soften my heart to heed. For God’s wisdom is always before me if I will.