3:188 – You Don’t Look Sick

#faithbites #faithjourney sick

Setting

I was walking the dog this morning and had a good conversation with my neighbor. When I walked away, I realized that she probably had no idea how much pain I was in from my back. That got me thinking about so many people, including my nieces, who are sick and in pain, both physical and mental. On the outside, they look “fine” and “normal”. When they don’t want to do things that other people do, they are looked down upon, because “You don’t look sick”. Not all sicknesses or pain can be seen from the outside.

When looking at someone, you may see a successful businesswoman. What you don’t see is an addict who steals to pay for her addiction. When looking at the man in a fancy car, you don’t see he is drowning in debt and taking his anger out on his kids. When you see that smiling person who volunteers for everything, you don’t see that he is a sexual addict. That nice person next to you in church may be a functional alcoholic and a gambler.

Just like you can see everyone’s sickness or pain, you can’t necessarily, see their sin. We are all sinners no matter what it looks like on the outside.

We do have hope in Christ for forgiveness, no matter our sin.

Scripture

• Romans 3:23 – For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
• Psalm 32:3-5 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
• Luke 12:2 – The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all.

Reflection

The Bible recognizes secret or hidden sin. Several times we hear that God knows all no matter if you say it or not. In Luke, we see Jesus saying that every secret will be made known.

We shouldn’t be ashamed to have sinned. All of us fall short of the Glory of God. Some of it is more visible than others. Jesus forgives all sin no matter what.

The main point is this. We are all sinners no matter how we look on the outside. Don’t make assumptions about the purity of others based on what you see. Also, don’t judge them as their sins will come to light. Finally, this isn’t a “keeping up with the Jones'” as you can’t model your life after another if you don’t know everything. The one to model after is Jesus.

Challenge

You get your pick today. One is to take a deep, hard look at someone and realize that what you see isn’t what you get. They are very complicated and are sinners like you. Give them kindness and Grace. The second is who do you model yourself after? Are you looking for human or heavenly role models? If it’s a human one, remember, what you see isn’t what you necessarily get.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, forgive us for our sins, both obvious and hidden. Help us to shout out to you and beg to be clean again. Help us not judge others for their sins or make assumptions about their abilities if they are sick. Be with us as we select role models as we can’t know what is in their heart. Let us work together as a community to understand our own sin and find ways to stop committing the same sin and grow in you. This is not an easy task for us. Please grant us your strength and wisdom as we move from judging and assuming things about others, to loving each other. In your name, Amen.