Respectable Rebellion

Happy Sabbath, everyone! Thank you, Kinsey! Very familiar words, but what a beautiful song! Really appreciate sharing your talents with us, praising God, worshiping Him, and certainly helping us to be edified as well. What a blessing it is! Obviously, she can walk and chew gum at the same time. She plays and sings, and really appreciate that. Thank you very much for the special music. If someone were to ask you, how are you doing today? You probably wouldn't say, I'm spiritually unhealthy. Probably not. You'd probably say something like, well, I'm doing pretty well, considering the people I have to work with. Maybe something like that, maybe you'd think that, maybe you wouldn't verbalize that. But considering that, you might say, well, I attend services. I try to do what's right. You know, on paper, look pretty good. And if spirituality was a checklist, well, how would you be feeling right now? Maybe most of us would say, huh, I'm feeling okay. But have you ever considered that this could be called respectable rebellion? Scripture says that some of the most spiritually dangerous sins aren't those headline sins that you may think of. But maybe things that most people don't see go unnoticed to the vast majority. But ultimately, it's a destructive pattern that can shape our heart, and it can begin to reflect what's really underneath the surface. Complaining. Cynicism. An accusatory spirit. Those things might not be shouted. They might not be the headliners. They're kind of muttered. They're typed. They're shared privately. And sometimes we just dismiss them. Oh, they're just venting. In fact, I think we don't call that complaining anymore, do we? We call it processing. I'm processing right now. Maybe we say, I'm just being honest. Is that what comes to mind? Or maybe my personal favorite? I'm not complaining. I'm just stating the facts. Respectable rebellion. Think about that for a moment. Scripture tells us these are hazardous things. Things that certainly point us in the wrong spiritual direction. Think about our calling for just a moment. When we think about what we're called to be, we're to be like Christ. And of course, we're told silence the murmurs, crush the complaints, abandon those accusations, and ultimately refuse respectable rebellion. And when we do, that opens the door ultimately for the light of Christ to shine through. You see, the world we live in contributes to our thinking when it comes to these kinds of things. In a sense, I think they cause us to consider that, well, they're not that bad. In fact, kind of reasonable when you really get down to think about it, because I'm justified in the way that I'm thinking. Because ultimately, when you think of these things of complaining and cynicism and having an accusatory spirit, they thrive. They thrive, I think, because of the world that we live in. We have stressful lives. I mean, if you had to define what your week was like this past week, is there a word that comes to mind? Maybe hectic, busy, overworked, stress come to mind? Well, that's the kind of world we live in. We've got financial responsibilities. We've got job responsibilities. We've got financial difficulties. We've got the challenges of our relationships. I've got to serve at church. I've got limited amount of time. I can hardly get enough sleep. And when you think about those things, there's just constant information and notifications that are coming at us all the time. Now, in that kind of a world, negativity becomes normal.

When you think about that, well, even maybe more than normal, maybe it becomes contagious. Because what we repeatedly think and what we repeatedly say, it shapes what we believe. And what we believe shapes how we live. I mean, imagine if your private words somehow became visible to all. What would that say? What direction in our thinking would that actually reveal?

As we consider that, think about this aspect of complaining. We're all guilty. We're all guilty of that. And as we do, does any kind of a check engine light come on when we do? I think it should. If we're complaining and murmuring, there should be a spiritual check engine light that pops on. Because God's Word does not treat that as trivial. Yet sometimes I think, yeah, it's not that big a deal. Everybody does it, right? Everybody whines and complains. But complaining is not just an emotional expression. Murmuring is a heart. It's a reflection of a heart that's resistant to God's way.

And it's not just expressing a difficulty, not just expressing a concern. It's really voicing dissatisfaction without faith. Where's the faith in that? Because to get down to it, it's showing what my heart really is reflecting. And in a sense, I'm saying I'm not real happy or I'm not really comfortable with what God is allowing in my life right now. You ever thought about it that way? If I'm whining about something, do I recognize God's actually allowing this situation, this difficulty, this trial to happen in my life?

I mean, think about maybe the most often cited example in the Bible when it comes to this. Who is it? Israel. I mean, they had it all, didn't they? They walked away from Egypt. They walked away from Pharaoh. They'd been delivered. The Red Sea opened.

They saw the miracles. God provided for them over and over and over again. And finally, they come right up to the edge of the Promised Land. And what happened next? Better send in some spies to check out what's going on there, right? And they came back with this amazing report that God has fulfilled His promises and we can go in and take the people. No, they didn't do that, did they? Go over to Numbers 14. We see the results of the report of the spies. They came back and said, we're in trouble, guys. We are in deep trouble.

There are giants in the land and there's no way, no way we're going to be able to enter the land. Well, the people bought that report. They bought that report. Numbers 14 verse 1 gives us their reaction to that very report. It says, all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation said to them, If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in the wilderness, why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword?

That our wives and children should become victims. Wouldn't it be better for us to return to Egypt? So they said to one another, let's select a leader and return to Egypt. Alright, familiar story. But did you catch a couple of the lesser noted details here in this story? This isn't just fear. This isn't just whining. This is escalated into organized rebellion. They were going to appoint a new leader. God's not good enough, so let's choose our own. They were rejecting the promises of God. God had promised them that He would fight their battles for us.

And He had all the way there. But now, forget it. We're on our own. We'll take it into our own hands. And it escalated to the point of slavery's better? Slavery's better than freedom? And ultimately, God judges it very severely because they accused God. Did you notice that? They accused God of evil intent. Why did He bring us here to fall by the sword? They were blaming God. And so they weren't just questioning His plan. They questioned His character. They questioned the character of God.

And when life got tough, got a little uncomfortable, well, that's when the complaints rose and they even rewrote history. You see, the revisionist history here? And now they're accusing God. And they're complaining is what led to the rewrite. It led to rewriting their memory of the past. And it was distorted.

A total distortion of the reality of what slavery was like in Egypt. And so God's response? We see it a number of times throughout the Old Testament as He dealt with Israel. Numbers 11, verse 1 says, He was greatly displeased. It displeased the Lord. That's an understatement. Verse 10 in Numbers 11 says, it angered God greatly. Greatly. His anger was greatly aroused. Yeah, God was definitely not. And it's sobering. Think of it this way. Does God say, you know, I get it. I get it. They were just stressed. You know, they didn't expect to see these giants. And you know, that's okay. He doesn't. No. He says, this is unacceptable.

This is unacceptable because complaining isn't harmless. It really reveals what's inside. It reveals your heart. And it matters because God's not just listening to the words they're saying. He's discerning attitudes. And so complaining in reality says, God, you're not handling this well. See, it reverses everything. And so when we recognize that, we can get to the heart of the matter. Many times we'll talk about 1 Corinthians 10, 10. That's where Paul writes about ancient Israel. And he says, their experiences were for our example.

And he says, don't complain like they complained because ultimately it leads to destruction. And so it's not just ancient history, in other words. He's saying this applies directly to us today. So how much do I just excuse complaining because, man, I had a tough week. This is rough. I had to go through all these difficulties. Do you realize what I'm going through right now?

I should be allowed to complain, right?

Well, that's what our world says. And I think it leads us to an interesting concept. And that's complaining feels normal. Complaining feels normal, doesn't it? I mean, you think of the stress and the pressures we're under. Maybe some of you thought of the word busy to describe your week. There's so many things going on. We've got the deadlines that we're supposed to meet. We've got our family responsibilities overbooked on all the activities we're supposed to be about. And we've got the challenges of just living life and emotional strain and relationships. And in that kind of environment, complaining can feel... OK, justified. And so pressure seems to contribute to making it feel reasonable. And as you consider tired, not getting enough sleep, I think it causes our spiritual guard rails to go down. And we can easily misinterpret things. We don't see the truth for what it really is. And then our attitude gets out of line and it goes unchecked. And that murmuring, that whining, that complaining, reveals something deeper. There's a deeper issue. Because ultimately, are we recognizing God's in charge? Or are we tipping toward those Israelites? What about God's power? What about His dominion? What about His superiority? What about His promises to us? What about His power? When we complain, we question God. Where does our trust really rely? Does it rely in our circumstances because if everything's great, hey, wonderful! Trust God fully. You know, is that where our confidence is in our situation, our circumstances? Or is our trust truly in God? If it's not, we can become, I think, even more than just critical. We can become cynical. And it takes it, in a sense, to the next level. We can become sarcastic. So not just whining and complaining. Cynicism is grumbling that has a better vocabulary. You can think of it in those ways. Cynicism is grumbling with a better vocabulary. Cynicism sounds a little smarter, doesn't it? Sounds a little bit more intelligent. Because complaining, it would say, ah, that's bad. This is awful. Cynicism, it says, yeah, I expected this.

Now, once again, cynicism doesn't usually start at rebellion. I think many times it's protecting ourselves. We want to self-protect, and it may grow out of, I'm disappointed. This didn't turn out the way I wanted. Maybe even our prayers weren't answered the way I had hoped. Or you know those leaders? They let us down. They let us down. Or maybe it's a setback. I didn't expect this to happen in my life. Or it could even be something that happens at church, an experience at church, and it wounded me. And it was supposed to heal me. It was supposed to be better. And so we become cynical. And you know, it seems reasonable. I mean, it says, yeah, I've been disappointed before. Or I've seen this pattern. Yeah, I know how people really are. It says things like, not going to be naive, not going to go that way. I'm just being realistic. You know, I've been mistreated. People, they've always got an agenda. And that kind of thinking invades our minds. And we convince ourselves that that kind of perspective somehow will protect us or keep us safe. But the real danger is that that protective idea really becomes a poison because it infiltrates us. And we sometimes kid ourselves saying cynicism and that kind of an attitude, we might say, well, I'm just using discernment, just discerning things. They're not the same. I mean, step back for just a minute. There's a big difference between being cynical and discerning. Discernment is striving to find the truth. It's trying to find the truth and usually with humility. But what about cynicism? It already knows. It assumes the worst without any evidence. It's going to go that direction. Now discernment, on the other hand, asks, well, what's really going on here? What's happening here? What does cynicism say? I already know how that ends. Yep, I've seen it before. And so discernment is open. It's staying open to see how God may deal with things. Or cynicism slams that door shut before God can even knock. And you know, the tragedy of all of this is that it's not just judging others. I mean, sometimes we put it in that—no, it's not. It's reshaping your heart. It's reshaping your thinking. And so it replaces patience with suspicion. And it alters mercy to sarcasm. And it changes hope to—just give up. Just resign. And so over time, we filter it through everything that we see, and we interpret things that way, and it's interpreted negatively. So sermons are critiqued before they're even heard. Motives are questioned before the fruit is seen. And unity—unity goes out the door by this internal chatter. James 5 hits this head on. If you turn with me over to James 5, verse 9. Pretty straightforward direction from the Apostle James. He doesn't mince any words. He just hits it head on. And so let's notice how James instructs us to deal with this kind of an attitude. James 5, verse 9. He says, Wow, that sounds just like Israel, doesn't it? Yeah, for our example. Don't do that. Don't follow their example.

Now, James isn't describing blatant open rebellion. I mean, it doesn't seem that way. He's warning about what's inside—internal grumbling. It's interesting, this grumbling word really connects to sighing and groaning. He's gotta be kidding me. And that kind of an attitude erodes relationships and trust. And so it should cause us to ask ourselves, do I assume motives before I see the results? I mean, it's disappointed, and that attitude of, this isn't going to work out. I've been so disappointed, rather than making me cautious. It's made me cold. And am I one to extend grace reluctantly and then suspicion quickly? See, that's a reflection of this cynicism, and it spreads beyond just disappointment, and it takes it to a whole other level. And one of the most difficult things is it seems that nowhere does that reshaping of the heart and the mind through cynicism and negativity happen more quietly and more often, maybe more dangerously, than in our homes. At home. What happens at home? Think about that. Often, the most influential moments in life in our families, they don't necessarily happen in serious conversations. They happen at the kitchen table. They happen not during deep discussions, but passing comments. A tone. Facial expression. A sigh when somebody comes into the room. A look that says much more than just words. Well, what's it like? I mean, think of a normal evening. It's been a week. Everybody's tired. Dinner's late. Homeworks not finished. The house could be either loud or it could be kind of uncomfortably quiet. And then someone says something small. Never mind.

I guess I'll have to do it again. I should have known. And those things aren't really explosive. Not some bomb that got dropped. It's not particularly openly hostile. Familiar? Maybe. And you see, over time, those comments accumulate. And what happens? The atmosphere changes. Instead of being warm, we find it gives way to tension.

Conversations get shorter. Things get heavier. And slowly, without necessarily intending it, our kitchen table doesn't seem so safe anymore.

And that's how cynicism, that's how quiet accusation often just gets right inside our families. And maybe it's not blatant anger, but it's maybe tone. Maybe it's not through rebellion, but these subtle traces of the weight and the heaviness, the fatigue of life that affects... We allow it to affect everything around us. And then we can excuse it because, well, I'm tired. You know the kind of week I had? But what does God tell us? Don't grumble. Don't grumble against one another. And that includes the people sitting at our own kitchen table. Because it's not just expressing frustration.

That kind of attitude is training our mind and our heart how to interpret others. How do we interpret others? What do we think when we see people do other things? What assumptions do we make? You see, and once assumptions replace questions, what happens to understanding? It's gone. It quietly disappears. And at first it doesn't seem like that big a deal because, you know, I excuse myself. I mean, they know that I love them. They shouldn't take that so hard. Or, I'm just being honest. Or, I really didn't mean anything by it. But you see, honesty without mercy, that doesn't build trust. And familiarity without restraint, that erodes real love. And so that frustration, we're like the Israelites. It hardens us into stories that we tell ourselves. We rewrite history. Well, they never listen. They don't seem to follow through on it. They always forget. And that's just how they are. And that cynicism just seeps in and it settles down. And it wants to stay. It doesn't want to leave. It wants to stay permanently. And so, families don't change through dramatic speeches. It doesn't happen that way. They change through small, intentional choices. Those choices that we make. And when we're faithful in a little, it makes all the difference in the world. How about choosing to pause instead of...how about to ask? Ask instead of accusing. What about a soft answer, a gentle word, instead of a pointed remark? You see, sometimes the most spiritual thing that we can do is not to correct. It's to extend grace. And when we extend grace, it doesn't allow cynicism to stay. Because cynicism is not going to stay quiet. Over time, it's going to develop even further and take it to another level. And that's an accusatory spirit. That's when cynicism gets an identity and that identity of accusation. That's not just complaining. That's not just being cynical about circumstances. And it doesn't just doubt people's motives.

How does an accusatory spirit work? That spirit of accusation.

Well, you've already figured it out. You're not just complaining. You're not just doubting. You've already assigned blame. You're assuming guilt. You're keeping a record of wrongs. And that accusatory spirit has an excellent memory for everyone else's mistakes. For whatever everyone else does that's wrong. And that becomes a horrible habit. And you can trace its origin. If you go to Revelation 12, verse 10, it tells us the origins of this kind of an approach to life. Revelation 12, verse 10. Familiar passage. It says, Why? And it's very clear. This is not Christ's role. Christ intercedes. He extends us grace. But Satan is the accuser. And accusation, when we allow that to infiltrate our thinking, it can become a habit. And we stop reflecting the light of Christ and start echoing the accuser of the brethren. And that's not just starting with some kind of evil speech or...it's an inner judgment. It's something going on on the inside. A condemnation that assumes intent. We put a motive on someone before we even know what's true. There's a biblical example of this in 3 John. If you go over to 3 John, verse 3, here we see an example in God's church. 3 John, verse 3, it shows the impact of an accusatory spirit. 3 John, verse 3, the apostle John, the apostle of love, the one who is probably in his 90s when he writes this, the one who was with Christ, the one who wrote the gospel of John. The gospel of John, we find he writes, Diatrophies, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us.

Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds, which he does, preying against us with malicious words. And so here John is recognizing the fruit of what this diatrophies was all about. Diatrophies was the accuser, and it was masking his pride, it was masking his, probably his insecurity, and his desire to control. He's a controller. And John is opposing this, God is opposing it because it fractures unity. It undermines the very work of God. And so when we recognize this kind of an attitude, I mean, he's talking about wicked accusations. That's what that prating word really is all about, accusing in an evil way. And he's doing it maliciously, with intent, with intent. And so John calls him out. And in a way, he's calling us all out. What are my words like? You know, are the words that I speak, are they words that heal, or are they words that harden? Do they protect unity? Do they bring people together, or do they erode trust? And the things that I assume about others, my assumptions, does that reflect mercy? Or suspicion?

These are things that God takes very seriously. He takes it very seriously. We saw the example of the Israelites, that he was angry with them. And yet when we consider this, God just doesn't want us to modify our behavior. Sometimes I think we fall into that kind of thinking, well, if I could just improve this, this would be great. God definitely wants us to change, but it's not behavior modification, is it?

No, He wants to throw out our human nature. That's what He wants from us. And He wants it replaced with the character of Christ. So that's not just a little modification. That's a complete makeover. So we need the character of Christ. And when we recognize that, it should be reflected in what Micah 6, verse 8, talks about.

It says, what does the Lord require of us? Well, Micah records, therefore, us to do justly, to love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. And when you begin to think about that, complaining resists humility. Cynicism opposes love. Accusation replaces mercy with condemnation. And so these are not just minor issues. God gets right down to the matter and says, this is a heart issue. This is an issue that's there on the inside.

And they're issues that then determine our actions, the fruit that would result from what we think and how we feel. And he says they're incompatible. We can't have the righteous judgment, the right perspective he wants us to have, when we have this kind of mindset. And so, what can I do? What can I do? Well, there's a number of things that God outlines for us to be able to battle these kinds of things that infiltrate our thinking. Well, when we complain, when we're cynical, when we begin to accuse others, we've got to step back. And first and foremost, begin with ourselves. Before we are pointing the finger, look inward first.

Ecclesiastes 7, verse 21 gives some guidance on this. Let's notice what it says. Ecclesiastes 7, verse 21, we've got, a jump into the wisdom literature of the Bible. And this is kind of interesting, because I think it especially applies today in this crazy world that we live in, of social media and things that are posted online and things that people could say about us either directly or indirectly. Pretty amazing counsel that we're given here in Ecclesiastes 7, verse 21. Notice what it says. Do not take seriously everything people say.

Or the way my grandmother used to say it, you can't believe everything you read in the newspaper. That was before computers, by the way. Yeah, don't take seriously everything people say, lest you hear your servant curse you. For many times also, your own heart knows that you have cursed others. Now, if you read that first glance, it says, well, don't overreact to what people say. All right, that's a start. There's a deeper truth here, though.

We've got the subtle dynamics of judgment, of our words, our speech, how we talk. And at the heart, we get right down to the core of who we are, if we break it down.

Don't take seriously everything people say. Life is full of opinions, ideas, criticism, commentary. It's all out there. Treating every word as truth? Wow. How can you avoid resentment or anger? When we think about that, it's right on our doorstep. We can't look at it this way. Here he's reminding us that the right kind of speech, the right word, speaking truth in love with the sermon, that's filtering what is fact and what is opinion.

It reflects someone else's heart, not our own. And when you think about that, what does he say? Be careful. He says, your own heart knows you've done the same thing. You've done the very same thing. And so oftentimes, this is phenomenal when you think of it, our judgments of others are often a reflection of what's in our own heart, of who we are, and it's just coming out.

And so before pointing out faults, you see God's calling us to ask, where have I judged improperly? Where have I spoken harshly? Where have I been unjust? Where have I accused others with not even knowing what the truth really is?

I mean, put this in a household context. All right, we've got this tense household because one of the parents is just laying down the law, speaking harshly to the children, and then realizing later, uh-oh, I've provoked them. And I brought about a bad reaction. Yeah, that can happen in the family. It can happen at work. It would never happen in the church, would it? Yeah, it can happen in the church.

And we're told the first step is to check our own heart. Check our own heart before getting into others because cynicism and sarcasm and a quick judgment... Oh, it could... Initially we could think, well, this is just a wise thing. But wait a second. We've also cursed others. And so that's a tough question to answer.

Have I done that? Have I cursed others through sarcasm? Have I cursed others through gossip? Have I cursed others by accusation that I really don't know the truth? Am I quick to assume a fault and slow to extend grace?

Because it's going to reveal who I really am. And it allows, if we have that kind of an attitude, bitterness, and that cynicism is going to come to the surface. But Ecclesiastes is reminding us there's a solution if we examine ourselves first. If we speak from hearts that are aligned with God, then our perspective is just. Then our view is edifying. And our words then become Christ-like. So Ecclesiastes is more than advice. This is a spiritual safeguard.

Look inward first before speaking outwardly. Let your words flow from a godly heart that's been purified by God, not allowing human nature to rear its ugly head.

Now that leads us to a second thing that we can do. We can recognize the fruit. Don't judge the motives. Recognize the fruit, not the motives. Christ said very plainly, you will know them by the fruit. Matthew 7, 16 is a good reminder of that. Yeah, that's how you know. It's interesting how Zechariah chapter 8 also applies to this. Go to Zechariah 8, 16. Get to the minor prophets. And here in Zechariah it's interesting because this is the time after Israel has returned out of exile. And it was a tough time, very difficult time. They were struggling. There was internal strife. There was mistrust. There was dishonesty. There was the outside sources that were trying to annihilate the Israel. All kinds of things going on. And here we find this God-given direction in Zechariah 8, 16.

God says, these are the things you should do. Speak the truth to one another. Render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace. Do not devise evil in your hearts against one another and love no false oath. For all these things I hate, says the Lord. So what does he emphasize? Behavior. Observable behavior. Speaking the truth. Judging rightly. Making peace. That's rather than an accusation or a cynicism or assuming some motivation. So the emphasis on actions, on actions and words that can be measured rather than just guessing intentions, rather than condemning and having that perspective.

And so God's reminding us, He's the only one that really gets down to the heart and knows our intentions. As human beings, we're not equipped to fully discern someone else's motivation. So our focus has to be the fruit. And ensuring then our actions reflect justice. Our actions reflect mercy. Our actions reflect truth. I mean, these are sometimes daily issues we have to deal with because you're on the job or at school.

Or maybe you're right here at church and someone's actions are frustrating. That is irritating. Or it's confusing. What in the world are they doing? And you can spend hours trying to figure out, why did they do that? Why did they act that way? What's the deal with that? And we can assume some kind of wrong motivation or they're selfish or they've got some hidden agenda. And we can come up with all these things. And when you get right down to it, we're probably totally wrong. We don't know. But I can feel pretty confident, yeah, I'm sure that's why they did that.

Well, here we're told, no, follow the pattern God's outlined. God's outlined observable behavior. He says, speak truth. Work toward restoration. Work toward peace. And when that's the case, when we don't assume someone else's motivation, problems can be corrected. The issues and relationships, they can be preserved. And your judgment then begins to align with God's way. So how much do I just speculate about why they did what they did? God says, don't go there. Don't go there.

And so, on the other hand, it's a reminder of a third thing we need to do, is choose to believe the best. Choose to believe the best. Sounds easy, but sometimes it's really tough. James 4 is a great reminder of this admonition. James 4, verse 11, he tells us just that. James 4, giving us practical advice, probably a New Testament version of the Proverbs, giving us advice on how to live.

And in James 4, he speaks to this issue we're talking about today. James 4, verse 11, he says, do not speak evil against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks evil against the law and the judges and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you're not a doer of the law, but a judge. There's only one lawgiver and judge, the one who's able to save and to destroy. But you, who are you to judge your neighbor? And so James addresses accusation. He's addressing cynicism and complaining all at once. All at once. Don't speak evil against one another. And so that's reflecting assumptions, pointing to motivation that we don't know.

Choosing the best, on the other hand, means we filter out those thoughts and we apply mercy and grace. And then we're avoiding that temptation to judge someone else's intentions. Because ultimately, what does James say? There's only one lawgiver and judge. We don't want to take on the job of a judge. That's God's job. That ultimate judgment belongs to God. And so we've got to face it. Do we really face the fact that I'm not equipped to discern someone else's heart?

I just can't do it. I can't do it. So when I place a motivation on them, oh, that's why they did that? Well, I can't know that. And that's dangerous. And we're told it's ungodly. So much more than dangerous. It's ungodly. And so if we choose the best, we avoid accusation. We avoid assuming negative motives. We're avoiding what leads to gossip. We're avoiding what leads to slander. We're avoiding what leads to broken relationships. And so if we believe the best, if we have God's mindset, we're reflecting His mercy rather than our own human suspicious nature.

And that would contribute to humility then when we face it that way. And we stop elevating ourselves to being motive detectors. Because we can't be. And instead when we choose what James tells us, it aligns us with a Christ-like perspective of love. And believing the best flows from the love of God. Instead of choosing selfish intent, we're choosing to respond with mercy and grace and patience and encouragement. And so I have to ask myself, how often do I speak in ways that condemn someone else's intentions?

And of course if we're going to move to the next level of the solution, not only do we choose to believe the best, but we move from criticism to care. We've got to care. And in Isaiah 11, He gives us some direction here. How do we move from our critical human nature to godly concern and care? Well with the power of God's Spirit, we can do this. And Isaiah gives us a great reminder. Maybe not some shocking truth, but when we apply it, it makes all the difference in the world. Isaiah 11, right near the beginning of the chapter in verse 3, it says, Now this particular passage is a messianic section of Scripture, so it's ultimately talking about Christ, the coming Messiah.

Well, it's highlighting how He approaches judgment and how He approaches leadership. It says, He shall not judge by what His eyes see. So He's not assuming motivation. He's not basing something on appearances. He's looking deeper beyond the superficial. He's looking past the outward expression. And it says He's not deciding by what His ear is here.

He's not acting on gossip. Oh, I heard that. I'm sure that's what happened there. Yeah, I heard that too. No, rumors? Out the door. Incomplete information? That's not how Christ is going to decide. That's not how He's going to judge. His decisions will be based on truth. They'll be based on a godly perspective and not some human speculation. So Isaiah is giving us a principle when we see judgment, right judgment, true, godly judgment comes from an understanding heart and having the whole context, not just assuming things.

So don't be tempted to do that is what he's telling us. We've got to look beyond the appearance. God looks at the heart. And so believing the best and moving from being critical to really caring about others, what does that result in? Stronger relationships, more deeper unity where trust can grow, and then misunderstandings are definitely going to be minimized. And so I've got to ask myself, how often do I fall into the wrong way of thinking? How often do I judge on a rumor or an appearance or hearsay?

How often do I actually give the benefit of the doubt? How often do I assume good intentions? That's harder to do. It's easier to assume bad intentions. I mean, how often do I really reflect the kind of discernment that Christ wants me to and focus on encouragement rather than criticism? Yeah, Isaiah is telling us, hey, believing the best, that's what it needs, discernment, patience, humility. And so ultimately, we're challenged to choose the best way.

Choose the best way. And we're told very plainly in Philippians 2, verse 14. Here's how we choose the best way. You want to put it into a nutshell? Philippians 2. Notice verse 14.

Philippians 2 mirrors some of the same thoughts we saw in the book of James. And here's the challenge to each and every one of us, to choose the best way. Philippians 2, 14. What does it say? Once in a while, try to do something without...oh, no, wait a second. It doesn't say that, does it? Do all things without complaining and disputing that you may become blameless and harmless children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. And boy, are we here or not? Are we in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation? Yes, but what does God intend for us? To become blameless and harmless. And He says, ultimately, among whom you shine as lights in the world. That's choosing the best way. Because this world that we live is so saturated with outrage and sarcasm and suspicion. And God calls us to be different. Not naive, not silent, not over...but to be humble, to be grateful, to be discerning, to be merciful. He calls us to that. And when we silence the complaining, when we delete the cynicism, when we reject accusation, unity grows, relationships heal, faith is strengthened, and ultimately Christ, as Philippians says, is clearly seen. So when we recognize this, God calls us out of this crooked and perverse generation to something better. Yeah, we're human and it's not about perfection, but it's certainly about putting on Christ. It's about progress. It's not about, don't say a word, but it's about edifying speech. And it's not about harsh judgment, but ultimately Christ's like mercy. So if we lay down complaining, if we lay down cynicism, if we lay down accusation, and we take up a thankfulness, if we take up mercy, if we take up humility, we will grow. And ultimately the church will be strengthened. So we have a choice. We can silence the murmurs, we can crush the complaints, we can abandon any accusations, and we can refuse to let respectable rebellion live in our hearts any longer. And in a world that desperately needs a Savior, we can be the light of Christ, and that light can ultimately shine through us.