Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Wednesday 12/15/2010)

Don’t Look Down; Unless You Are Picking Up…

Romans 12:3 (Amplified Bible)

³For by the grace (unmerited favor of God) given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate and think of himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance], but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him.

Luke 10:25-35 (Amplified Bible)

²⁵And then a certain lawyer arose to try (test, tempt) Him, saying, Teacher, what am I to do to inherit everlasting life [that is, to partake of eternal salvation in the Messiah's kingdom]? ²⁶Jesus said to him, What is written in the Law? How do you read it?  ²⁷And he replied, You must love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.  ²⁸And Jesus said to him, You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live [enjoy active, blessed, endless life in the kingdom of God].  ²⁹And he, determined to acquit himself of reproach, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor?  ³⁰Jesus, taking him up, replied, A certain man was going from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him of his clothes and belongings and beat him and went their way, [unconcernedly] leaving him half dead, as it happened. ³¹Now by coincidence a certain priest was going down along that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³²A Levite likewise came down to the place and saw him, and passed by on the other side [of the road]. ³³But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled along, came down to where he was; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity and sympathy [for him], ³⁴And went to him and dressed his wounds, pouring on [them] oil and wine. Then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵And the next day he took out two denarii [two day's wages] and gave [them] to the innkeeper, saying, Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I [myself] will repay you when I return.

            Today as I watched a television program while I was folding laundry and cleaning, I heard someone on a particular television show make this statement: “You should never look down on a man, unless you are picking him up.” My neck snapped, that statement did not just capture my attention but made me think, of how many times I had been judged in my life, by what status I was, by the times I had been married, by my level of education, by my place in or out of ministry, or by the ring that use to be in my nose, by the tattoo on my back or the clothes that I wore.  I thought of all of the times people (especially those of the household of faith), had looked down at me, because I was different and I did not look like everyone else or I did not minister the same way.  It is so ironic to me, that we are saved by “Grace,” but we rarely exhibit that grace and mercy to others.  We are quick to judge people by our skewed and messed up standards, where they have been, the mistakes that they have made and the choices that they make, never thinking, that BUT for the GRACE of Almighty God there go I. We love to sit in judgment of others, but we hate to be judged, isn’t that a hot mess!
            The only time we should ever look down at people is when we are ourselves bending down to help them up; to help lend them a hand, to raise them above a situation or to overcome a condition.  If they fall in a pit we should be looking down to find a way to get them up out of the pit, but not in a place of ridicule or condemnation.  In the story of the Good Samaritan, it was so easy for everyone to find an excuse not to help, people used their positions, their holiness, their title, their abilities and their status, to keep looking down and overlooking, but it was who society and those deemed “religious” looked down on and thought lesser of that knew that everyone needs someone to help at one time or another.  Many of us have had a hard time seeing that we need to stop judging, looking down at people and thinking that we are better, because we have never been down, or for others still we have been down and have forgotten where we have come from and what God has saved us from.  We need to remember that salvation, and the greatest gifts given to us, was God not looking down on us, but seeing us even in our sin and realizing that we needed His help to get out of the mess that was created by mankind.  Imagine for one minute if God had chosen to look down on us, the way we look down on others, what a mess we would be in now.  We would be forever out of God’s presence with no hope for salvation or redemption.
            So before we look at that homeless man and say he smells bad, or we say he needs to get himself together because he has the same opportunities I have, remember that could be you.  When that mom is in need of help to feed her children, don’t ignore the cries for help, pay it forward, think about how God’s grace has kept you from her plight.  Look down without judgment, then bend down and pick up someone that needs you in their corner, needs you to see them through and needs your prayers, your time, your resources and your talents to help cure what ails them.  Remember we are the only Jesus that many people will ever see!  People need us to make it; people need us to survive!