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“It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge, and my job to love.”
— Billy Graham
How would it change the church if we poured our efforts into loving people instead of judging them? How would it change the world?
As Christians, we sometimes assume it is our job to act as the “spiritual police” in our communities. We take it upon ourselves to root out and expose any sort of potential sin or heresy or dissent that we perceive to be wrong or harmful.
While there is a place for spiritual interventions and calling out sin, I think many times we’ve lost sight of the necessary balance and inadvertently crossed the line into pharisaical territory. We’ve become our own spiritual versions of accuser, judge, and jury without leaving enough room for the power of love or mercy. We shake the dust off our hands in satisfaction that we’ve done God a service by refusing to allow any perceived offense to go unchallenged.
In our well-meaning attempts to foster holiness and righteousness in our communities, have we unwittingly become like the stone-throwing religious leaders that Jesus spoke out against time after time? Continue reading
