Caught 'Cha Doin' Good!

 

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. Some of the Pharisees asked, "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?" (Luke 6:1-2)

The reason I stopped with verse 2 was that it became even more clear that no matter where Jesus went there were the criticizing Pharisees -- asking why He was doing this and why He was doing that, trying to make Him obey and fit into their little picture of what He should look like. What in the world were they doing in the grainfields with him on the Sabbath anyway? Why weren't they resting if they were so concerned about the law? They weren't waiting on the Master to do something magnificent, they were waiting on him to break a rule so they could correct Him on it!

A wonderful principle of parenting is to not focus on the negative behaviors of your children but to accentuate the good. It is the "Caught Cha' Doin' Good" principal. Obviously, the Pharisees had never heard of this! Sometimes we don't act too much like it as Christians, either.

I talked with a friend yesterday who was so discouraged because one friend had confessed that she was having difficulty and then another friend berated her and threw that failure up in her face every chance she got, as if degrading her about it over and over would bring about a positive change. Unfortunately, there are those within the Body that throw grace out the window and feel as though conviction of sin has somehow transferred out of the hands of the Holy Spirit and is now their responsibility.

How many times have you been on the receiving end of someone who seemed to make it their job in life to follow you around and pounce on your every time you did something wrong? When was the last time that you noticed a fellow Believer doing something good and thanked them for it?

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. (I Thessalonians 5:11-15)

Let's be people who realize the grace that has been lavished on us when we certainly didn't deserve it. Let's be people who take every opportunity to look at fellow sojourners and say, "Caught Cha' Doin' Good!"

Blessings,
Dori