God applied that scrutiny to our recent church evaluation. He uncovered several core issues involving relationships and used the evaluation team to exhorted us. They outlined several ways to get our relationships as they should be. For instance, where there is gossip, that must stop. If someone has hurt us, we must go to them first, not tell everyone else about their sin. If anyone has something against us, we must seek their forgiveness and be reconciled.
So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. (Matthew 5:23–26)Chambers elaborates on this. He reminds that the Holy Spirit urges us to come to judgment right away when He convicts us, but if we do not, then the inevitable happens. We wind up in spiritual bondage and can only be released when we pay the debt. This seems harsh, but not from the point of view of God. Sin is serious. Broken relationships are serious. He will not use us or bless us if we harbor anger, resentment, thoughts of retaliation, or have unforgiving spirits.
God does this because He loves His people. He wants me to be pure and spotless and undefiled. I cannot do that unless I recognize and yield my stubborn insistence on my right to myself. However, the moment I am willing to let God alter my attitude, He begins to work. Chambers says He “tax the last limit of the universe” to help me take the right road.
Because this is true and because I love Him, I try to keep short accounts with God. Yet I notice how much easier it is to talk to Him about my sin than to go to someone else whom I’ve sinned against. Last Sunday, He reminded me of something I’d done that hurt another and poked at me until I apologized. While she was not angry or frustrated with me, that small confession brought forth the sweetness of reconciliation and with it, great spiritual freedom.
Short accounts means being yielded to God, letting Him govern what I do, how I talk and act. Those things affect the working of God in my spirit. If I let my reasoning, or my stubborn will, or my emotions keep me from obedience, then my spirit becomes numb to the voice of Jesus Christ. I cannot move forward in growth or intimacy with Him if I have not paid my debts to others.
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Jesus, I am so glad that You are a picky Savior. You want every last thing taken to the Cross, every sin confessed, every relationship made right. Even those sins that seem of small consequence are vital to my spiritual well-being. Admitting sin is a blow to pride, but You work in and through only those with humble hearts. I like the idea of short accounts. It is something like having all my bills paid and that wonderful sense of financial freedom. When my sin is confessed and You have forgiven me, and when I keep my relationships right and those whom I have hurt forgive me, You bless with a spiritual freedom that would otherwise never be experienced. Thank You.
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