I feel very blessed to have been raised in a loving environment. I had a great family, I knew God, and had a lot of people pouring wisdom into me. And even with all these advantages in life, I still screw up because of the sinful nature within me. But praise the Lord that He has compassion on the broken and the needy. I was thinking how easy would things be if our youth group did everything right and had no problems. Well the truth is they are all struggling at some level, even if I am unaware of it. We don't need to avoid the kids that have problems, we need to invest deeply into them. We don't need to write off the ones that are struggling as lost causes, but rather pray relentlessly for them. Isn't this in fact what Jesus does for us.
Scenario 1:
What we see: A thug at school that bullies other students. He uses foul language and has no respect for authority. He shows no remorse when he gets in trouble. We call for him to be removed from the school and warn our students to avoid him.
What we don't see: This boy at school has been verbally abused by his father. His father, who is addicted to alcohol, shows no affection to his son but rather just uses him as a whipping post for his drunken rages. The boy has never experience any affection and no one has ever told him he is loved. He doesn't know about Jesus, and he is following an abusive cycle that was shown to him through the example of his father.
Scenario 2:
What we see: A young girl at the school who has a reputation of sleeping around. Her attire is anything but modest. She is a notorious flirt and the last thing we want is for a daughter to be influenced by her a son to be caught in her seduction. It is easy to slander her name and talk about her sins.
What we don't see: This girls parent went through a bad divorce when she was little. She could never understand why her dad left her. As her mom dated other guys, one of them molested her. Her only way to have intimacy and love from another man is through her body. She feels shameful and dirty because of her actions, but she keeps returning to it because she craves love so badly.
These two stories are made up, but they are based on testimonies I have heard from real people. The point is to stop and think before we write someone off or slander their name. These people need the love of Christ just like we all do. And no one has been there to show them love or hope. So before you offer judgment on someone, extend mercy first. They may be acting terribly, but it was a series of life events that led them to this brokenness. And we all have skeletons in our closet and desperately need God's mercy. Praise God that He always shows mercy before judgment. Let's also make sure that our hearts are bent towards compassion even to the most broken individuals. And may we always extend mercy before we condemn.
Scenario 1:
What we see: A thug at school that bullies other students. He uses foul language and has no respect for authority. He shows no remorse when he gets in trouble. We call for him to be removed from the school and warn our students to avoid him.
What we don't see: This boy at school has been verbally abused by his father. His father, who is addicted to alcohol, shows no affection to his son but rather just uses him as a whipping post for his drunken rages. The boy has never experience any affection and no one has ever told him he is loved. He doesn't know about Jesus, and he is following an abusive cycle that was shown to him through the example of his father.
Scenario 2:
What we see: A young girl at the school who has a reputation of sleeping around. Her attire is anything but modest. She is a notorious flirt and the last thing we want is for a daughter to be influenced by her a son to be caught in her seduction. It is easy to slander her name and talk about her sins.
What we don't see: This girls parent went through a bad divorce when she was little. She could never understand why her dad left her. As her mom dated other guys, one of them molested her. Her only way to have intimacy and love from another man is through her body. She feels shameful and dirty because of her actions, but she keeps returning to it because she craves love so badly.
These two stories are made up, but they are based on testimonies I have heard from real people. The point is to stop and think before we write someone off or slander their name. These people need the love of Christ just like we all do. And no one has been there to show them love or hope. So before you offer judgment on someone, extend mercy first. They may be acting terribly, but it was a series of life events that led them to this brokenness. And we all have skeletons in our closet and desperately need God's mercy. Praise God that He always shows mercy before judgment. Let's also make sure that our hearts are bent towards compassion even to the most broken individuals. And may we always extend mercy before we condemn.