Drop—the stone! We don’t need another stone thrown. The world is already on edge; we’re living in a tinderbox—waiting for the next shoe to drop. So please, don’t throw any more stones of bigotry, lies, or other hate-filled rocks.
God is speaking, but are we listening?
God is showing the world it’s headed in the wrong direction. He allowed a pandemic to ransack the entire globe; He’s ripping veils off deep-seated prejudices and hypocrisies. Yet, with all this going on, we still dare to be throwing stones at one another. With the mess before us, we need to humble ourselves and heed the Holy Spirit’s guidance because the way of the world isn’t working for us.
The life we live is just a prelude to eternity. I once heard someone describe the length of eternity by using grains of sand as an analogy. They said if one grain represented one lifespan, then all the grains of sand on all the beaches wouldn’t begin to measure the length of eternity. I don’t know how accurate that description is or how well I explained it, but you get the point.
With that said, most of us need to rethink our priorities and base decisions not just on the moment but also on the future. For example, there’s nothing wrong with climbing the ladder of success or accumulating nice things, but the question is, how did we treat one another as we climbed that ladder, and did we mistreat others to get those nice things? In other words, were any stones thrown?
Jesus never minced words.
One morning while Jesus was teaching in the temple, the scribes and Pharisees brought Him a woman caught in adultery. The law of Moses specified to stone her for such an act. But when they asked Jesus what they should do, Jesus responded, “he without sin, cast the first stone.” The woman’s accusers were convicted by Jesus’ profound reply and left the temple one by one. If we apply this Scripture to our lives, do you think any stones would be thrown?
… he [Jesus] lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her (John 8:7).
Another day when a great multitude had gathered to hear Jesus speak, He spoke about people who judge others when they have more enormous sins going on in their lives. If more of us would take a look at ourselves, we wouldn’t be in such a hurry to throw stones at others’ iniquities. The apostle Paul said we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God (see Romans 3:23).
Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye (Matthew 7:5).
We need to drop the stones—and drop to our knees and repent.
© 2021
See you next time on Paulette Talks Faith.