"Equal Distinction"
Proverbs
17:15, "He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just,
even they both are abomination to the LORD."
This morning,
humanity operates under perspectives and judgments with variance and
uncertainty. God alone has pure, absolute knowledge of infinite scope
making Him the perfect judge and unvarying authority for any and all
circumstances. Years ago, I worked with a man who - though well meaning
- would incorrectly assert, "People just need to accept that we all
operate under different varying shades of gray in life." While I
understand that people do have a lot of gray areas in life, judgment,
and circumstances, such should not be the case all the time. The Lord
has given us plain declaration of things that are right and wrong, true
and false, and proper and improper. Most of the time, our "gray area"
comes from an unwillingness to do what is needed rather than being
ignorant of what is needful for a situation.
In our study
verse, the wise man asserts two opposite situations that are equal in
the Lord's eyes. Whether someone is accepting someone or something that
is not right or not accepting something or someone that is right, both
of them are equal to God's perspective: abomination. To understand how
weighty this is, simply compile a list of wrongdoings from Scripture and
note how selective God is in using the term "abomination." It is
something that He reserves selectively and uses sparingly. Therefore,
when something merits abomination in the sight of the Lord, it should
powerfully impress us.
One of the
reasons that this verse needs to be put on display in our mind's eye is
that all of us drift towards one of these or the other. Let us explain
it this way. Some people are bent towards niceness and are willing to
"go along to get along." Under the moniker of "peacemakers," they will
say, "Well, I would rather err on the side of charity." In so doing, it
becomes easier for this mindset to justify the wicked or make allowances
for things that are not right. On the other hand, other people are bent
towards firm stances on what they value as being the proper course.
Under the moniker of "conviction," they will say, "I would rather err on
the side of truth." In so doing, it becomes easier for this mindset to
condemn the just by hammering things that do not fit inside their box
Kind reader, do you see yourself in one of these two camps? I certainly
understand which way I am bent in my makeup and disposition.
When we see
other people that fall into the opposite "camp" from our general course
of thinking, we might say, "I don't see how they do that." For those
that are bent towards charity, they do not understand how people can be
so hard-nosed about things that they themselves deem unnecessary and
nonessential. For those that are bent towards truth, they do not
understand how people can be so lax and tolerating about things that
they themselves deem wrong and shameful. It is easier for us to make
allowances for people who think like we do, though we should always be
looking for ways to expand and grow our thinking to improve our weak
points and move ever closer to the mark of Jesus Christ our Lord. Since
none of us are there yet, we have moving and growing to do right now.
Let us
consider two Bible characters that highlight this point. For a time,
Barnabas and Paul travelled together in the book of Acts as yokefellows
in the ministry. From Scriptural record, they seem to be very different
men in disposition and makeup. Barnabas was a brother of consolation
and an encourager. He was one of the first to recommend Paul to the
brethren as no longer the dreaded and feared Saul of Tarsus. Paul was
one who could be flinty and hard nosed for a battle. He was the one who
had the courage to stand up to Peter and say, "You're wrong. This is
your fault." The church today still has men who generally fit one of
these bills more than the other. Some men/ministers are good at
encouragement, while others are good at standing against wrong when
errors creep upon the borders of Zion. Truth be told, Zion needs both
for her wellbeing, and even tougher truth, we need to grow into maturity
in both avenues as full grown trees by the well watered rivers of
Canaan.
In my short
time on earth, I have seen good-minded men swallow and tolerate things
for far too long that should have been dealt with swiftly to prevent
damage to the sheep of God's pasture. I have also seen men stand so
viciously opposed to mindsets and ideas that were not un-Scriptural to
prevent damage to the sheep of God's pasture. Did we notice the
similarity? Both ended up in the same place: damage to the sheep of
God's pasture. How could two opposing mindsets end up in the same
place? Because both are alike an abomination to the Lord. Whether
someone is being charitable and justifying the wicked in the process or
standing upon conviction and condemning the just, the Lord holds both in
equal distinction. We may frown at one more than the other, but God
views both the same.
Over time, I
have had to refine and hone different parts of my mindset. Sometimes
our minds can be like pendulums. We may say, "I need to become more
charitable" and end up being too tolerant. We may say, "I need to
become more convicted" and end up too harsh or critical. In the end, we
need to understand the starting point. Whether someone desires to err
on the side of charity or truth, the point is the same. We are starting
with erring! When I was in school, a teacher gave me a nugget that has
helped my mindset in many avenues of life. She said, "When you approach
an assignment, make it your goal to ace it. Though you won't ace
everything, by shooting for it, your ceiling is at its potential." In
other words, if your goal is just to make a B, you cede ground
automatically. No, you will not make 100% on everything, but shooting
for it gets you closer than if you just shot for 90%. In marksmanship,
there is an expression called "aim small, miss small." If your goal is
just to hit the target, then any variance leads to a great miss. If
your goal is as close to center as possible, a miss will still be close
to the mark and still generally on target. In our lives, we need to
start by saying, "I want to hit the mark." When we miss, the variance
will be smaller, and we will not justify the wicked or condemn the
righteous nearly as often as we would by ceding ground to one direction
or the other. Let us today refocus, aim truer, and make the mark of
Jesus our starting point in all things.
In Hope,
Bro Philip