My Toilet Paper Roll

Does it ever seem to you that the only way we look at life is through our spiritual toilet paper rolls? Everyone seems to be pointing in multiple directions while arguing which shade of blue God is today. I go with Navy.

MESS UP

I was disrespectful to a fellow Christian the other day and I was wrong...

A group of my friends and I were about to go out back and smoke some cigars I had picked up in Ft. Collins, CO. As I made it into the living room a friend of the host asked me what I had. "Cigars!" I said with a smile... the friend thought I was kidding and "played" along. But to their disappointment the red colored, sturdy, cool looking box had nothing but four of my Churchill sized Alec Bradley Maxx cigars resting just above my cutter.

It didn't take long for the questions to turn to judging, the judging to false claims of sin, and the false claims to my frown. They said that when a pastor mentioned that he smoked cigars, it was his way of confessing a sin. I think not.

So after about a minute, my standing neighbor said with a concerned tone, "You know... you really need to be careful around..." And without letting the sentence complete I blurted out of frustration, "Judgmental People?!"

That's where I went wrong. I was saying that they couldn't see because they didn't see through my toilet paper roll.

I'm not saying that when someone falsely proclaims sin that you should agree. My suggestion is that you gently reach over and guide their roll to see what you see... and more importantly be willing to have them guide yours as well.

WE GET STUCK

It makes me sick to think that I would keep pointing at the same part of the sky my whole life and not get a better view of God. Many people wrap their mind around one part of scripture and live only that for the rest of their life.

The problem is that if you set unbreakable rules that scripture didn't create then scripture probably already broke them for you. If you say that drinking alcohol is a sin then you'll probably forget to teach (John 2:1) about Jesus' first miracle or (Mark 14:24,25) about communion. You might forget that wine was normal in the church before the prohibition.

If you say that a person's finances parallels their blessings, then you'll probably forget to teach on (Matt 19:24) how hard it is for a rich man to get into heaven or (Luke 6:20) how Jesus teaches that the kingdom of God is for the poor. And if you're not careful you could walk on the edge of using the blessings of God as the tool to convert people (Matt 23:15) where Jesus says this makes the converts twice the sons of hell as you.

MOVE

I write this only to plead with you to move your toilet paper roll. Find the people you may have teepeed along the way for not moving. Let them look through your roll and be strong enough to look through theirs. It's the only way we'll all see God together.