From Me to You: A Pastoral Note…

March, 2012 From Me to You: A Pastoral Note…

Women and men are so different: clothing, hair styles, attitudes, interests. And in this: Women sit down on the toilet to pee. Men pee standing up at the urinal. (Bear with me a minute.) And when men pee standing up at the urinal in the church men’s room, they see this sign on the wall: “If you can read this, then you are close enough to not pee on the floor. Everyone thanks you.” I laughed out loud the first time I read this sign. That sexton! What a sense of humor. When I read it today something else came to mind.

I realized that sinning against each other in the church, the body of Christ, is like peeing on the floor. Both show a lack of concern. Both are careless and disrespectful. Both make life harder for others. (And not just for the sexton.) See where I’m going?

Like that bathroom sign, our church covenant encourages us to not sin against each other with phrases like “walk together in him (Christ) in brotherly love,” “exercise fraternal care and watchfulness over each other,” “cultivate sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech,” “being slow to take offense,” and “always ready for reconciliation.” Living by those words would clearly reduce the times and ways we sin against each other.

And of course, more binding than our covenant, is the Bible. The Bible is full of commands, teachings, warnings, etc. that all have the same end in view: Do not sin against each other. On one hand are words like these: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4.32) And yet there are commands like these: “Get rid of…anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth.” (Colossians 3.8)

Paul warned the Corinthians, “When you thus sin against members of your (Christian) family…you sin against Christ.” (1 Corinthians 8.12) Paul encouraged the believers to “pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” (14.19) In other words, “Don’t pee on the floor, Church!” So here’s my paraphrase of that bathroom sign:

“Friends, if you can read the Bible, then you are close enough to not sin against each other.” If you can read the Bible, then you are close enough to not judge each other; close enough to not malign each other; you are close enough to pursue peace with each other; close enough to forgive each other; close enough to love each other…”

Because to read the Bible and yet go on sinning against each other is careless and disrespectful toward others “for whom Christ died;” it is being unconcerned for people who are family to you in Christ Jesus. We can do better than that! We must do better than that if we are at all serious about following Christ. Our words may say that we are; but our actions show what we really mean.

Church, if you can read the Bible, then you are close enough to not sin against each other. Make that your practice, your Christ-following, covenant-keeping, church-loving practice. Do that and what an attractive church we will be! Do that and like the sign says, everyone will thank you. J

Your servant for Jesus’ sake,

Pastor Mike

Pee Ess: Any offense taken at this article simply misses the urinal, I mean, the point.