“So He made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both
sheep and cattle; He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned
their tables.”
I read an
interesting book called “Unoffendable” which dealt with “righteous
indignation”. This has been one of my go-to emotions, and I have used what
Jesus did in this verse to justify my actions when I felt like being an angry
Christian.
The “What
Would Jesus Do” movement may have confused me. I have decided that Instead of “WWJD”,
my bracelet should have said “WWJHMD” (What would Jesus HAVE ME do). Since I am
not the Messiah, what Jesus did and what I should do, aren’t always the same
thing.
For instance, when they brought people to Jesus, He forgave them of
their sins… But since I’m not Jesus… I can’t forgive you of your sins…. And for
the same reason I may not be qualified to chase people out of church with a whip.
The fact
is, I am not qualified to have righteous indignation - because I am not
righteous… And while I abhor sin and will stand against it, I am not qualified
to abhor sinners.
So now,
with your own moral outrage, you say, “but we are called to judge sin!” ... and
you are right. The great failing of the church is that in order to not offend we
have stopped calling sin what it is, and this has gutted the gospel of its life
changing power.
So, we
must stand our ground when dealing with false teachers. But what should our
demeanor towards them be? … Haven’t we all been healed of the same disease? …Can
we be angry at those who are still afflicted by it? We can’t ignore the illness. ... but shouldn’t
we be trying to get them the cure?
Besides, the
overwhelming Holiness of God makes our irritation inconsequential. God is their
judge, and His wrath is far more pertinent to the situation than ours.
The bible
is clear… Our job is to speak the truth in love…not in anger. It may not feel as good as righteous rage…but
it is what we are called to do, and it is what Jesus said would identify us as
His.
"God has nothing to say to the self-righteous."
- Dwight L. Moody
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