Another Halloween has come and gone. Did you have trick-or-treaters or did you actually go out yourself? I had many a cute kid come to my door from a Clone Soldier from Star Wars, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, to the obvious scary parade of witches and horror movie impersonators. I certainly enjoyed seeing the kids and I know they had a blast gathering bag-loads of candy.
Even so, one thought troubles me when it comes to this whole Halloween thing…evil. Evil is not a silly joke to be celebrated like some figment of a foolish person’s imagination. Evil is real and takes many forms. Maybe I need to clarify. Yes, there are different types of evil. There is demonic/satanic evil which is written about in the Bible - stories of Job, Legion, and the Book of Revelation. But a very dangerous and common form is the evil Jesus encountered in Matthew 16:23 when He tells Peter “get behind me Satan.” You see, Peter wanted what Peter wanted. This form of evil is a denial of what God wants and an insistence of what the individual wants. When someone begins to accept his or her own heart’s desire over and above what God wants, then, that becomes evil and it too is often hidden behind our mask.
What Would Jesus Want? WWJW? How do we find out what God wants for us? We must first pray, but then we need to look to the faith community for answers. King David wanted to hide his adulterous affair, but Nathan the prophet came to him and confronted David with the truth - not to simply point out David’s sin, but to help him confess, repent, seek forgiveness, and become someone after God’s own heart. In fact, simply pointing out another’s failings if done in a self-righteous manner is itself not of God but evil as well. But, an honest truth teller attempts to draw an individual closer to God and restore the individual by destroying the lie and self-deceit.
Author and Pastor John Ortberg calls it “the gift nobody wants.” It is the gift of accountability. We want to know ourselves, but then again we don’t. It is like looking in a mirror or getting on a scale. The cold, hard, factual truth comes to bare. Ortberg says, “When people are engaged in destructive, soul-threatening behavior, they need a mirror.” Telling people what they want to hear is not love, it is evil. This is true everywhere… including within the church. It is frightening to hear the truth because we fear chaos and the lack of control that goes with it. The questions arise: “What might happen if the truth is told?” and “Who might be offended?” But real community invites and seeks the truth. Anything else is simply what The Road Less Traveled author M. Scott Peck calls “pseudo-community.” Do you have someone who tells you the truth... someone who loves you and whom you love who can serve as your Nathan? At times, we all think that we know what we want, but is that really what God wants or are we simply following the steps of Peter? God loves you and wants your life to be one of discipleship, so find yourself a faith community and someone you trust to help you be the man or woman after God’s own heart.
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