Who Is Best Qualified To Handle Grievances?

Good Morning Friends,

Paul rebuked the Corinthian Christians for trusting secular sources in rectifying grievances among themselves. He claimed the Church is uniquely fitted to properly rectify personal grievances because Christians are qualified through their selfless loving concern and wisdom. But then Paul argued for his own case to be addressed by the secular powers of Rome. Of course, that bought him some time and was connected to a powerful purpose, but it also ended in him getting his head chopped off. Generalizing today’s scripture from Paul’s letter might not be wise at all if those assigned to a case do not act ethically. The merits of providing accountability to a community is undoubtedly the issue. But know this, God works in mysterious and often strange ways and is the higher court that helps us to think differently if blessed with the power of the Holy Spirit. So, when power seems to flow out of us dealing with the issues of life we ask, Who Is Best Qualified To Handle Grievances?

Scripture: When any of you has a grievance against another, do you dare to take it to court before the unrighteous, instead of taking it before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels—to say nothing of ordinary matters? If you have ordinary cases, then, do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to decide between one believer and another, but a believer goes to court against a believer—and before unbelievers at that? In fact, to have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud—and believers at that. Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 6:1-11 (NRSV)

Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

Luke 6:12-19 (NRSV)

Message: Some people have said that today’s scripture from Corinthians makes it sound like Christians are supposed to let people run all over them submitting to a clever sales job. And in some situations that is correct, but it is an individual situational decision made through the Holy Spirit’s guidance and control. You see, things are complicated and before we start blaming people, we need to understand what the main concern is and differentiate it from what is wrong. We need to experience how scripture informs scripture when filtered through the experiences of our lives and sometimes tests and proves us for a purpose. And that brings us to how Jesus handled his decision making. He always waited for the guidance of the Spirit and was never boring. And as we see from the Gospel of Luke, Jesus took the problem to his Father in prayer. The thing is that serving takes energy, but there is a refilling and recharging that needs to take place. Jesus spent years preparing for ministry and so too Paul. They both were prepared for a purpose and guided in the power of the Holy Spirit to act. Similarly, in today’s scripture from the Gospel of Luke we see an example of worship that is a manifestation of God’s glory, for in it we see the presence, price and prize of worship that must be uncovered to help us make decisions. When we look a little deeper, we begin to understand that seeing worship in scripture and having it manifested in our lives can be two separate events. It is here I think we are to discover that worship is not confined to a place with actions ordered in a way to make them please God but the process of revealed truth in the presence of love, humility, repentance, and reverence below the surface that helps us to live healthier lives. Friends, in Christ, is the focal point of the meaning of life and that extends beyond worship on Sundays into the very roots of our existence and the choices we make and especially on how we are to deal with conflict.

And so, we know that conflict can drain us. But we need to see God not with the mindset of what we have heard about God so much as a personal relationship that forges trust and faith in what we cannot understand. So, the key to keeping a clear mind during these times is to pray. I am in what we call “worship” just about every Sunday morning. But what I am discovering is that the place of worship and the acts and order of worship are not as important as our response to them day to day and moment to moment. We need to have our spiritual batteries recharged but we also need to use that power for a purpose. The essence of worship is ultimately a response of the heart…our heart crying out after the heart of God and responding in the Spirit with power. So too this is how we can best make decisions in regard to the conflict in our lives. Worship is therefore not only knowing about God but hungering for God’s inspiration…pouring out the spirit in truth that revitalizes us. Friends, the best way to handle grievances and the making of decisions is to bring the issue to God in prayer.

Pray the eyes of our hearts are enlightened. Pray we understand the difference between wants and needs. Pray we thirst after righteousness. Pray as we make decisions, we realize that those who have placed their trust in Christ have found the answer to the hidden hunger and thirst in their life. Pray our lives and actions are connected to the power of the Universe manifested in Christ Jesus. Praywe worship in spirit and truth and take our issues to God in the same manner. Pray our worship experience is a healing experience that informs our decision making. Pray we have the right attitude about conflict that separates us. Pray we have a broken and contrite heart that longs for God’s presence in all things. Pray we understand the price and the prize of Jesus. Pray that we are more interested in the giver than the gift. Pray that in our worship we are a blessing to Jesus. Pray we worship in the faith, joy, and power of knowing that Christ, our Redeemer, lives. Pray that the more forgiveness we experience the more we want to love Jesus and all His sheep. Pray we not just scratch the surface of the Christian faith but experience a deeper faith that quietly and patiently shifts the balance of power. Pray we encourage others. Pray that below the surface in the roots of our existence we are always worshipping God so God’s power might flow in and through us for Jesus’ glory. Pray our lives and actions are connected to the power of the Universe manifested in Christ Jesus. Pray we trust God to mediate.

Blessings,

John Lawson