DAILY HOPE DEVOTIONAL: NOVEMBER 30 COMMONEST SIN OF CHRISTIANS (2) SCRIPTURE: 1 SAMUEL 16: 7; JOHN 7: 24; 1 PETER 3: 4

Spread the love

As said in yesterday’s devotional, the commonest sin amongst Christians is destructive criticisms. We are using destructive criticism to make light of the word “prejudice” because series of devotional have been written on “Spiritual Prejudice” in this volume of devotional. Today’s devotional will lay more emphasis on how Christians, through destructive criticisms, condemn people by people’s appearances. In general term, the appearances of people’s dressings, ways of worship, the in ways people walk, ways others conduct their prayer meetings as well as how people sit together in the church, (whether sitting arrangement defiles godliness or not). Galilee and Nazareth were cities berated by the Judean elites as per their appearances as good for nothing that any good thing can come from. In the same ways many Christians judge others by appearance prying into who holiness is resident in, who the Holy Spirit ought to use as well as who is Spiritually Holy to associate with.

Christians must know that our conception about others is most often a product of what our minds make of them, but God may be looking at them as honourable people. We see these days, particularly in Nigeria, how some Christians have come up with condemnable judgment about those Christians perming hairs, wearing jewelries, clerical chains, wedding rings etc., concluding that they are doom for hell fire. In as much as this devotional frowns at immodest dressing, it opines that God might not judge people by outward appearances. God told Prophet Samuel this when he was sent to anoint David to be King (1 Sam. 16: 7). Jesus Christ taught the same in John 7: 24 saying “Judge not by according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” Apostle Peter in his Epistle observed, while teaching on modesty of women that: “You should clothe yourself instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God” (1 Peter 3: 4 Africa Study Bible).

Nathanael is said to be a man of transparent sincerity who Jesus described as “a man without guile”. Nathanael was sincere in his remark on Jesus but was wrong in that sincerity as his speech was quite the opposite. Many of us Christians can criticize people out of our own sincere hearts, but that sincerity might be wrong as our external view on people may be out rightly opposite of the righteous contents of the heart of those we criticize. The candid advice of this devotional is for Christians to prayerfully accept other Christians as those carrying the marks of Christ too.

Imagine what happened to Nathanael. His meeting Jesus changed his destiny. Jesus accurately told Nathanael exactly who he was and where he was sitting (John 1: 47 – 48). Nathanael confessed his believe in Jesus and acknowledged that Jesus was the true Son of the Living God. He became first of the Apostles who Jesus told will see the heaven opened to behold the glorious things of God (John 1: 49 – 51). The beloved, that Christian Brother or Sister you are criticizing and condemning might be the one God sends on your way for true repentance. So please do not deny him or her sitting with you.

PRAYER:

BLESSED FATHER, remove far from my heart today, destructive opinion about people around me. Introduce me to those who have the knowledge of Salvation and successes in life for me in Jesus name.

bishopubaudenyi@hopealivechurch