God of Authority

Christians have kind of a reputation for being...judge-y. 

The world thinks we're out here just walking around, talking about all the things we disapprove of. And in too many cases, they're right. We have become modern-day Pharisees, focused on the rules and who's breaking them, always looking to catch someone in the act. We like telling others when they are wrong, mostly because it puts us back up on our high horse and lets us look "right." 

Sidebar: when you're being judge-y, you're not right. Even if you are technically correct. 

The thing is, most of the time, we don't have a relationship with the persons we're judging. We're just out here pointing out wrongs without context, putting the world into black and white boxes because we think we can. "But the Bible says..." but does it? What about the 472 other things it says that you're ignoring while focusing on that one? 

What about when it says, uhm, not to be judge-y? 

Imagine how difficult it must have been for Paul, who traveled almost continuously and planted churches across the region, then did his best to continue teaching those churches while he was far removed from them. Imagine hearing about yet another scandal, yet another falling out, yet another sin taking hold in a church that you care deeply about, and you know you have to write them another letter because you're stuck where you are and it's going to be a bit before you can get back there physically. 

It'd be really easy for these churches to look at these letters, read them, and think Paul's just being judge-y. That he's just trying to condemn them whenever he can. That all he wants to do is call out their wrongs and remind them that he wasn't like this when he was with them, so what on earth do they think they're doing? 

Ironically, in his second letter to the church at Corinth, he's addressing judginess that's starting to creep up (again). He's talking about how they seem to like to judge others...even each other. And he reminds them, gently, that even though he's telling them they're going astray, he's not judging them. 

Because the authority God has given him is meant to build them up, not destroy them (2 Corinthians 10:8). 

And, well, I read that, and I think that's a good lesson for all of us. 

See, Paul's authority from God is to build them up, not destroy them, but it's not just him. The authority that the Corinthian believers have from God is also meant to build them up, not destroy them. And the authority that we have today, that you and I have, to speak truth to darkness and to power and to speak love to brokenness and welcome to foreignness and foundness to lostness and life to death...that authority is meant to build up, not to destroy.

The question then becomes: why aren't we doing more of that? 

With all of the amazing goodness God gave us to speak into the world, to witness to, to share...why are we using our energies for destruction? When God called us to build one another up, why are we so content to tear others down? 

What would happen - how would it change the world, at least our little corner of it - if we used our God-given authority for what our giving God intended it for and built each other up?