Barnabas People - Pt 2

Jesus said, “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:33-34 ESV).

I must confess that one of my favorite channels is the Food Network; and, one of my favorite series on that network is Chopped. It is a reality television cooking competition show. The show is hosted by Ted Allen and features four contestants. The contestants, usually professional chefs (though some episodes feature amateur chefs), are tasked with cooking a dish in an allotted time frame using four mystery ingredients which usually do not pair well together. The chefs then present their dishes to a panel of three judges who are culinary experts. The judges cut, or "chop," the contestant they feel made the worst dish after each round. There are three rounds: Appetizer, Entrée, and Dessert. After three rounds, the judges pick a winner based on all three dishes the remaining two competitors have made that day. The judges do compliment every dish until the inevitable “but” is spoken. It is another reminder that we have made criticism, contempt, critique, and correction the native language of our fallen world. It has become entertainment. We’ve even made “critic” a profession. The vast majority of the analyses of people, ideas, organizations, movements, and governments we hear, whether in the press, on blogs, or at the table next to us, are negative. There are, of course, things that legitimately need critique and correction. But the overabundance of negativity is largely due to the fact that the prideful eye of the fallen human heart is trained to see others’ weaknesses, foibles, mistakes, and sins. It looks for them and relishes in them. Ironically, one reason is that we are all looking for hope for ourselves. Courage comes from hope. We should not be surprised when the church falls into a disproportionate amount of discouraging negativity. Our remaining indwelling sin is bent in this way and Christians are under constant assault by spiritual forces of evil (cf. Ephesians 6:12). Critical discernment is necessary for spiritual survival. But in the chaos of the battle, we can easily wound each other with critical friendly fire and forget that encouragement is also necessary for spiritual survival. So, today, can I encourage you to join me intentionally striving to withhold words of hurt, judgment, and discouragement, and focus instead, on trying to find words that will uplift, motivate, and encourage those around you. Be one of the “Barnabas People” today! Maybe we’ll start a trend!