Walking a Fine Line John Carter Cash
Once a Christian puts himself above the world , or in his fervor becomes “ holier than thou ” or too good to associate with people of questionable character , then he has alienated the very people who need what he has to share . — Johnny Cash
Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves , you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy , kindness , humility , gentleness , and patience . Make allowance for each other ’ s faults , and forgive anyone who offends you . Remember , the Lord forgave you , so you must forgive others . Above all , clothe yourselves with love , which binds us all together in perfect harmony . — Colossians 3:12 – 14 NLT
God ’ s people walk a fine line . On the one hand , we ’ re instructed to live our lives in a way that reflects God ’ s work in our lives . Often this requires us to approach life from a perspective that other people don ’ t share . It sets us on a path apart from others , one that often runs against the crowd . Our Christian faith sets us apart . The New Testament calls us aliens , strangers in a strange land , not of this world .
On the other hand , we have to stay relatable . Other people need to see themselves in us . They need to know that what ’ s happened in our lives can happen in theirs . If we get too otherworldly , we risk . . . well , alienating the very people we ’ re called to serve .
In his letter to the Colossian believers , the apostle Paul identifies five quali- ties that keep us grounded and help us build genuine connections with the people we serve . The first is tenderhearted mercy . In order to show tender- hearted mercy to the people God puts in our lives , we have to look past the things that cause friction or disconnects in our interactions with them . Differing personalities , viewpoints , backgrounds , and circumstances tend to cloud our vision of other people . In order to see them more clearly , we have to consider the unspoken struggles they ’ re facing — the fears , anxieties , and insecurities they wrestle with .
When our hearts are tender , we ’ re more apt to show the second quality : kindness . The great
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