Mind Your Own Business

The Lord once gave me a vision of a minister I know who was covered in black clothing like a ninja. I shared this with a friend who also knows this minister. We agreed the meaning of this vision was this man being covered in deception because of not being accountable to others. 

However, being accountable doesn’t mean we must allow everyone to speak into our lives anytime they please. Yesterday I went out for breakfast with a group of men following a Bible study. One of them started offering suggestions I didn’t ask for. First, he urged me to find a helpmate and wanted to take me to his church because of the many single women there. He also kept asking how I support myself and talked about other ministries fundraising. Yet one of my rules as a minister is to avoid asking people for money.

Years ago a former co-worker of mine had a habit of sending me messages laced with unsolicited advice. In one email, he quoted 2 Thessalonians 3:10 (“If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat”) suggesting I’m in sin for not holding down a regular 40 hour/week job instead of traveling doing the Lord’s work. I replied by suggesting he read the very next verse. The Apostle Paul also comes against busybodies or as the New Living Translation says, “meddling in other people’s business.” One definition of meddle is “touch or handle something without permission.”

There is a difference between rebuking someone living in sin and simply giving someone our opinion. We should always be open to godly correction. Proverbs 19:20 says, “Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days.” But some people need to learn not to continuously overstep another person’s boundaries (especially on Facebook). It’s just plain rude!

When I’m out evangelizing, some sinners don’t want to hear the gospel. Even though God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9), I have to back off when someone doesn’t want to get saved. God will not override another person’s will. One type of advice I particularly find annoying is when religious folk tell me how I should evangelize (such as never going out alone) but they won’t obey the Great Commission themselves!

Getting back to my former co-worker, I explained to him that what may not be the right way for him may be the right way for me. Finally, I had to stop communicating with this man because he repeatedly tried to get in the last word. Even Jesus sometimes walked away from the Pharisees when they continually harassed Him. 

It’s often been said opinions are like armpits…everyone has them and some of them stink. Christians would be wise to stop and pray first before telling anybody what he or she should do. Even a minister can unwittingly be used as a tool of Satan by misleading another believer down a destructive path. In 1 Kings 13, there’s an account of a prophet who gave direction supposedly from an angel that led another prophet to disobey the Lord and later got killed by a lion.

We are ultimately responsible for carrying out God’s plan for our lives, not someone else’s.

“If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs.” - 1 Peter 4:15 (NLT)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Toking the Ghost Revisited

Image
Back in February 2007, a fellow missionary I was traveling with started talking about “smoking the weed from heaven.”   He would pretend to have a joint of marijuana between his fingers and have “smoke breaks with Jesus.”   He also encouraged other believers to take “hits.”   I was a bit uncomfortable with this idea but didn't contest it. Then in October of that year, I heard John Crowder preach on “toking the Ghost” at a church in my hometown of Fargo, North Dakota.   I was inspired to make a video with John to share with my missionary friend.   During the filming, I experienced much laughter. I decided to make the video public figuring other people might enjoy it also. Two weeks later at a church in Minnesota, I heard Benjamin Dunn share testimonies of people getting healed from “toking the Ghost.”   This was just before he and John Crowder started ministering together.   I believed this was God confirming His word in the mouth of two or three witnesses.  
Read more

The Gospel Soul Winning Script

Image
During my early days with evangelism, I developed an approach called the Survey Technique . By asking short direct questions, you can maintain control of the conversation and find out quickly what a person’s spiritual beliefs are. Although the Survey Technique has helped me lead thousands to the Lord, I’m still open to utilizing new methods in reaching people with the gospel. Rodney Howard-Browne 's ministry uses a tool called the Gospel Soul-Winning Script , which originated during their Good News New York campaign in 1999. I became familiar with it a few years later during evangelism outreaches with Rodney’s church in Tampa, Florida. At first, I resisted using the script. I found it restrictive and thought sinners wouldn’t be receptive to me reading the whole thing to them. Then while taking part in a 2009 outreach with Rodney’s ministry in Washington, D.C., my team leader asked me to “stick with the script.” Wanting to maintain unity, I complied with his request. Initially it fe
Read more

A Tribute to Al Best

Image
October is Pastor Appreciation Month. This tribute is for one who went home to be with the Lord last Sunday. Al Best oversaw Light in Anoka Church in a northern suburb of Minneapolis. Originally from Florida, Al first gave his life to the Lord at 17 but then backslid. Meanwhile, he served 21 years in the Navy and worked various jobs. That included selling Rainbow vacuum cleaners. I would eventually get to know his sales manager. Eric Gonyon became an associate pastor at Rodney Howard-Browne ’s church (I usually attend services there when in Tampa).  A few years after recommitting his life to the Lord, Al became a pastor. In 2007, the Lord directed him to head north to Minnesota, where his wife Jean is from. First, they ministered in the small town of Dassel. What started as a youth mission transitioned into regular services for all ages. Then in 2016, Al and Jean moved to Anoka to take on a church originally called New Day Fellowship. To counter the city’s motto as the “Halloween Ca
Read more