All of us have those people in our lives. Those people who feel it's their place in life to monitor your life and give you their running commentary on how you're doing. One of those for me is my van's dashboard, and I find it very judgmental.
It always seems to be there whenever I climb into the van. It lights up and waves at me whenever I turn the key trying to get my attention and give me it's take on my life at the moment. It is constantly calling my attention to my speed, nagging me right up to that point I get pulled over. If I haven't stopped for gas lately, it criticizes me with a bright yellow light. I'd tape over the blighter, but I'm not fond of those late night walks to the gas station can in hand.
Of course, that's the point. The dashboard is there to make my life better. That oil gauge may seem somewhat meaningless most of the time, but it helped
me understand the white cloud that suddenly erupted from the back of my car alerting me to the blown oil seal just before my engine seized up forcing me to walk to the nearest service station. At that moment, I wished that oil seal had some kind of indicator. A ten minute warning sure would have been helpful. And if I paid attention to that speedometer, then I'd have less tickets and more money (don't panic! It's just an example. Your missions money is not going to the State Patrol. I have a good relationship with speedometer). Feedback and guidance are often a good thing.
That the primary way that God's guidance and discipline work in our lives. He communicates to us so that we don't break down on the road of life with an empty gas tank and a blown oil seal (pretty nifty, huh. I could do this all day, but I'll spare you). That's what it means when Scripture says God disciplines his children (Hebrews 12:7-11). God actively guides us away from disaster and toward growth that shows itself in wisdom, strength, joy, and peace. You can choose to tape over his indicators, but don't blame him for the results.
The community of Christ also assists in this guidance, but we need to be careful. The voice of a GPS is helpful when your lost and don't know where your going, but it soon becomes irritating when you can't shut it off. Being slow to speak is a virtue (James 1:19).
On the other hand, love includes accountability and the occasional rebuke. Otherwise, it's not really love. But these should be outweighed by encouragement, hope, service, intercession, and the willingness to help bear each other's burdens. The critic who has hard words but is never there to lift a humble, loving hand to assist is just a clanging gong, a stuck horn, a seal belt alarm that won't silence itself after you buckle up, a... (you get the picture).
God does judge, but mostly he disciplines. He guides and directs our paths. He also judges the fruit of our lives based on his perfect perspective. If our lives abuse and oppress others, then there is a point where his judgment can become harsh to bring relief to the suffering. God is patient, though, he prefers to guide and inspire and throw up stop signs when we head down a wrong path.
I invite discomfort and sometimes even disaster when I ignore my dashboard. That's true with God as well, but it goes a step further. I also miss a great deal of good in my life as well. God's discipline has my best in mind.
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