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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: EMBARRASS(ED) (11/03/16)
Why do we expect leaders in our church to be perfect? We put them on pedestals and watch their behaviors like a hawk. And then, we are devastated to find they are human. They deal with the same issues that we do and have bad days just like the rest of us.

I experienced this first hand in church during our service "meet and greet". Kate is our Youth Director and is a kind, soft spoken, Godly woman. She home schools her children, never seems to raise her voice, and always has a word of encouragement for others. Kate has recently lost quite a bit of weight through diet and exercise and has worked really hard to incorporate a healthy lifestyle for her family. As she and I were deep in conversation, an older lady approached us to shake our hand and chat. " Kate, you are getting much too thin, I am beginning to worry about you", she exclaimed.

Kate snapped! " I would think that you would worry more about that roll around your own waist!", she replied.

My jaw dropped. All I could think was, “How rude that was!” The older lady decided to "meet and greet" elsewhere in the church and Kate and I resumed our conversation. For me, the remainder of the service passed in a blur. I was deeply embarrassed for both ladies and the service just seemed long.

That night I attempted to pray to God. The incident at church played out in the back of my mind, but I tried hard to ignore it. Finally, I took it to God, "Why is this bothering me so much", I asked? “Did I think that Kate held some Holy power and didn't even need Jesus to be righteous? Did I think she was without sin?”

I starting to examine the way that I looked at people that I thought of as Godly. What was it about these men and women that made them someone that I looked up to? During this, God showed me that setting others up on pedestals was not a good idea. Only Jesus was without sin. In order to lead a Christian life, we must depend on the Holy Spirit, we can never do this on our own. Kate wasn't righteous in her own might, but through the power of God. She has the same sinful nature that all mankind inherited from Adam.

I realized that what was actually bothering me was that I was trying to please God and man thought good works on my own power. I was born again to Jesus Christ, but not tapping into the power He promised me! We do good works because we have Jesus, not to be righteous before Him.

Living the Christian life in a secular world means living in a fish bowl. We know that the eyes of the world are on us, waiting for us to stumble and assure them that we are hypocrites. We should not do this to each other. Let us pray for one another, and look to Jesus as our example. God showed me that while Kate is a Godly example of a Proverbs 31 woman, she is human. Just like I am.
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This article has been read 199 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Sherry Brock
11/11/16
This is a well thought out article with an excellent message. I did see a thought that is punctuated as dialogue, and the next to the last paragraph was a little confusing- maybe some missing or wrong words- I'm not sure. Over all I enjoyed it.
Larry Whittington
11/13/16
Our faithfulness to God is shown by doing whatever he has commanded us. This is being faithful -- not doing good works.

Your evening prayers should have turned to (1 John 5:16-18)

I liked how you gave an example to us of how we can encourage each other about not sinning with our tongue. You had an excellent opportunity to encourage your friend about being careful about unkind words.

Thanks for your well written personal story.
Bonnie Bowden 
11/17/16
Congratulations, Cheryl, on winning highly commendable in the Beginner category.

While I do agree that church staff shouldn't be held to a higher standard, I do think Kate was rude and owed the woman a simple apology.