Thinking

I am in a quandary and of course it involves men, but not like you are thinking. These two men are righteous, admittedly at times self-righteous, but on the whole good men. Both are pastors of thriving churches. I call both men my friend.

Here is the thing. One of them has greatly disappointed me. Why? I have looked up to him as a leader of the faith for some time now. Unfortunately, I think he has compromised his ethics to look good in the eyes of man. All I can see that it has done is severely damage his witness for the Lord. I tried to tell him so in private, but he was not ready to listen.

The other one has always struck me as being a bit self-centered. Especially so to be a pastor. Don't get me wrong, he is a great guy and clearly loves the Lord - but I was never too sure about him until this week. This man had a rough couple of days and was disappointed in some colleagues. He told me as much. The next day he came to me and apologized for complaining! I really had not given much thought to his comments, but his apology moved me.

Two men of God with two very different witnesses. Which do you think most pleased the Lord? The one saying the right words to make things go smoothly even if it is contrary to what is right or the one who said the truth but where it did no one any good and came back to apologize for it?

If both these men share their faith with me in the future I can tell you which one I am more apt to follow.

For me it is a strong reminder that it isn't the big things that determine how we serve the kingdom but rather the small daily decisions of how we live our life that make the most dramatic impact.

Be careful what you say.