I am not a jerk.
Well, at least I am pretty sure I am not a jerk.
A jerk is an obnoxious, annoying person who treats other people badly.
I have known plenty of jerks, but I don’t count myself as one of them. Of course, as I think about this… most people who are jerks, have no clue that they are! So maybe I’m a jerk and don’t know it.
But what I mean is that I don’t intentionally set out to treat other people badly. I try to get along with everyone. I don’t set out with a plan to step on anyone’s toes. But I have discovered that sometimes the things I share from the Bible can “sting” a bit. So by simply sharing certain things from the Bible, even when done so out of love and with a compassionate heart, I sometimes get labeled as a jerk.
Have you ever found this to be true? That as a Christian you are commanded to speak the truth in love to others, just as Jesus did, but that people might not be very receptive to your ideas, because they might be contrary to how they are living.
But isn’t the Bible supposed to be a book about God’s love? Yes, but the Bible is also a book of conviction.
If you study the ideas contained in the Bible, what you find is that its content is going to be challenging and sometimes even painful. God tells us that His Word should change us. The Bible is not a storybook simply to be used for entertainment. Nor is it just a history book to keep us from repeating the mistakes of the past. There are entertaining, historical accounts within its pages, but God tells us that His Word has a deeper purpose.
God says to us that His Word is living and active and is sharper than a sword. If I properly understand the purpose of a sword… a sword is designed to pierce and to cut. So the Bible, by its own admission, is designed to pierce you… Ouch. That doesn’t sound pleasant. And it seeks to cut out the places in your life that aren’t in-line with God’s character… Ouch Ouch! No one enjoys being pierced or carved on. We prefer comfort.
But Jesus didn’t preach a message of comfort. He came preaching the messages of “Repent,” “Deny Yourself,” and “Follow Me.” He commanded lives be changed for God and for hearts to turn back to God. Conviction and life change should be a regular part of our lives if we are following Jesus.
God knows what is best for me and tells me to present myself to Him “as a sacrifice.” Another unpleasant word…
Sacrifice.
A sacrifice was killed – completely killed. (Is there any other way?) Not halfway killed. Not maimed. But completely and thoroughly killed. So for me to be a sacrifice means I give up everything… Everything. When we present ourselves to God as a sacrifice, we are saying we give up running our own lives and controlling our own plans. We “kill” our will and our desires in order to fulfill His. How well am I doing this? How well are you at it?
God’s goal is to transform me into the likeness of Christ. And as I am going down that path of transformation being pierced and cut, I find it to be painful. Killing my own desires isn’t pleasant. But with each step of killing more of myself, I discover that He gives me more peace and more joy and more abundant life than I had before. So the piercing and carving is painful, but brings a better end. I think the reason it often hurts so much is because of how tightly I am holding onto the things that aren’t good for me. I need to hold to them more loosely.
So even though I sometimes say things that sting, I am not a jerk. (Not usually, anyway.) And certainly not when I’m sharing God’s Word with others out of love. In fact, there is nothing more loving than helping someone become more like Christ and experience the peace, joy, and abundant life that He provides. Or course, at times, some people might not appreciate it!
So don’t be a jerk today, but do share God’s Word with others.