Drop Your Stone

There are days when I get concerned my fellow Christians and I see our role in the world as mind changers instead of heart changers. I say that because we spend so much time trying to change the way people think about certain behaviors and choices. We spend unhealthy amounts  of energy trying to support and get elected officials who will advance our way of thinking like personal mules transporting prized possessions. And too, too many days, I see us doing this with a misguided confidence we're building the Kingdom of God. 

God has little interest in the laws our minds come up with or the elected officials we think will support them.  Getting human laws written in human books is a human endeavor that makes humans feel good, not God. And even our personal responses to those laws, the lifestyles we choose, the behaviors we embrace - God has little interest in them outside of how they reflect the love we have in our heart for Him. 

That's what makes changing hearts such a challenging job. We have NO idea what is truly in the heart of another person. We know how personal choices reflect the way one is thinking, but not what is truly in their heart. It's impossible for us to know if changing the way someone thinks about something does anything to change the way they love God in their hearts. That's why I've come to believe our hearts are the best tools we have for relating to someone else's heart. Seeing the way I feel about God and demonstrating his love is far more effective at changing hearts than telling someone else what I think about God and how they too should be thinking. That often makes a loving heart look like a judgmental mind. 

All of these thoughts poured through me after watching this video below. I've loved this song since I first heard it, but the thoughts the writer and singer, Chris August, share leading into this coffee house version really touched me. He seems a bit nervous and at times awkward sharing them, but the message came across as powerful as any presidential campaign speech I can imagine. 

Listen to the words. Know that when we're pointing a finger, three are pointing back.