For Your Consideration (or lack thereof)

Posted on May 19, 2020 by Catey Stover in Freedom Fighters

“Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!” Romans 12:16 (NLT)

 

“There is unrest in the forest. There is trouble with the trees. For the maples want more sunlight and the oaks ignore their pleas.” There wasn’t any particular message applied to these lyrics when Neil Peart wrote these words to the song “The Trees”, however, the former drummer for the rock band Rush only had this thought, “What if trees acted like people?” As the song goes on you may see for yourself the possibility that a little consideration could have prevented the eventual end to this conflict… “And the trees are all kept equal by hatchet, axe, and saw.”

Ya know, for everything that freedom is, being considerate within that freedom is even more. The apostle Paul reminds us of what that looks like…

“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”’ (Galatians 5:13-14)

We’re living in a moment where this is being tested big time. Why? Well because that “Love your neighbor as yourself” command has become an issue. How? Well, funny you should ask that but I think it lies on this “new normal” philosophy that has come to light. We’re all being told to put on mask and stay six feet away from each other so we don’t catch what each other has or don’t has. In either case, the object is to contain and flatten whether you like it or not. At the time of this writing I’m one of the ones who “don’t has” but according to the experts I am still contagious and that’s where my being considerate comes to light.

I’m not sure about you but I’m not one to put my faith and hope into things that constantly change to suit the conversation. Don’t get me wrong, we need to examine the information we’re given and see where it lies. Some things are absolutes that can’t be denied such as a gravity, what goes up inevitably comes down for instance. But there are things in science that are just guesswork (like the THEORY of evolution?) and because it can’t remain steady, I can’t rest in it.

So how it that the absolute of Biblical truth is something I find rest in? That’s easy to answer, they have played throughout my life in way or another, so they’ve made themselves known. Besides, the writer of Hebrews is pretty clear in this sense, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Heb 13:8) If we take the time to read our Bibles, we’ll see that this has always been the case. God doesn’t change, how He wants us to treat each other hasn’t changed and how He wants sin treated hasn’t changed either. So, what’s all this have to do with being considerate to each other? A lot!! We were designed to NOT think of ourselves more highly than we ought to and yet we do it either on purpose or by accident… and I ain’t leaving myself off the list either. We need to take this into account, “Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3b)

I’ve heard it once said that “In refusing to set our mind on high things and in associating with the humble, we simply imitate Jesus.” Isn’t that really the goal of Christianity?  I frequently look at Paul’s example because he seemed compelled to insert himself into humble situations, making it a turnaround for him because he was once the Pharisee of Pharisees, considered blameless under the Law and Jesus Christ changed all that. He considered that all rubbish so that, “I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection.” (Phil 3:10a)

For those of us who know the parable of the wicked servant we could see that he was forgiven of a debt that he could never pay back and his master knew it. Yet he went to his fellow servant and did to this man what should have been done to him. We’re warned to not have that same lack of consideration for others through this parable because it can easily backfire upon us possibly in ways we just aren’t ready for.

So, there is unrest in our forest and there’s trouble with us trees and if we’re not careful things will be leveled out by the hatchet, axe and saw of a Mighty God. We’ll be doing damage to the Cross of Christ a whole lot more if we consider others around us a whole lot less. Does this mean wear the mask and keep your distance? Eh…but haven’t some of us we’ve been wearing a mask and keeping our distance from Him already?

 

Written by Chris Hughes: Chris, a graduate of The Colony of Mercy (11-2003) has been married for 25+ years (Kathy), has a married son (Kevin) and a daughter in college (Karen). He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008. You can email him at cphughes515@verizon.net

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Think About This: “A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.” — Winnie the Pooh

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalms 23-27| You can download our 2020 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here. 

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:  “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. ^14 [c]Because narrow is the gate and ^[d]difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. –Matthew 7:13-14

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the doctrinal and theological views held by America’s Keswick.