Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Taking Pot Shots


What does it mean when others spend their time taking pot shots at you? No one ever takes pot shots at those who are invisible or unknown; just those who have apparent success.

Consider this story from the Bible:

In Mark 9:28, the disciples tried to cast out a demon. They were unsuccessful, and thoroughly humiliated. Later the disciples came to Jesus complaining about someone else who was successful at casting out demons. They told Jesus, “We told the man to stop doing this because he was not one of our followers” (v.38). Jesus was quick to correct His disciples, “Forbid him not. Whoever is not against us is for us: (v.39).

You’ve got to wonder. Were the disciples really concerned about CORRECT ORTHODOXY or THEOLOGY here? Is there really only ONE RIGHT WAY to cast out a demon? Is there only ONE GROUP who is ALLOWED to do it? Or were the disciples just jealous because this guy was producing results they were unable to achieve?

If a neighboring pastor makes subversive remarks about another church, it’s not because he is motivated by a pure desire for evangelism and discipleship in HIS OWN church. There’s a good chance he is jealous of the numerical gains of others that seem to elude him year after year. So it is easier to medicate his own failure by complaining to God and others about why “they are not doing it right.”

The next time you find yourself about to critique the methods and successes of someone else, check yourself. You might be motivated by jealously.

1 comment:

Jewel said...

Jealous & Obsessive people do...STRANGE THINGS...my Mom always taught me, "If you want to know anything about a race horse just check its track record." This same principle applies to people.