End times or not

I was so shocked once again today by blatant insubordination of an employee. I think the term is gross insubordination. Being an employer is not at all glamorous or something that is to be envied. I know that the Bible says in the end times there will be lawlessness.

Matthew 24:9-14, Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

We might say that because there is a lot of lawlessness we can assume that the end times are on us and there’s nothing we can do about it. But we don’t know when the end will be.

Matthew 24:36, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”

We could well say that even though we do not know when the end will be, we might as well accept that these are the end times and that we can just shake our heads in disbelief and let it run its course. We cannot leave people who seem to be acting according to the end time prophecies. We still have to continue with the great commission until the very end. Every soul that can be won for Christ is worthwhile.

Romans 4:7-8, “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,

And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

There’s the parable of the workers who got hired at the eleventh hour to work in the vineyard and they got the same remuneration as those who had worked all day. (Matthew 20:1-16) The workers who had worked all day were very upset about this, but the employer reminded them that they had agreed to work for what they received. It is our duty to continue to spread the Gospel and in that way not only add win souls but also have more people who will spread the Gospel. And of course, those who accept the free gift of life will become new people and therefore better people. That means that it will be slightly easier to live in the world. Am I making any sense?

We tend to condemn people very easily when we are personally affected by their bad manners and their bad behaviour. How do you as an employer handle bad behaviour of employees? I have heard a few times already that because I am a Christian I cannot judge the bad behaviour of my employees. That is just a lot of nonsense. Firstly, every employee has a contract which they have to sign in order to be employed. If the contract is violated there are certain procedures to be followed. Every person who call himself a Christian should treat all people with respect regardless of whether they are family, friends, employees or people in the street. I have heard so many non-Christians condemn Christians for doing things which are perfectly lawful according to scripture, but because they have a twisted view of what Christianity is.

Maybe we are in the end times, and maybe we aren’t. It doesn’t matter one way or the other. We shouldn’t let people stop us from what we should be doing. We should be the light and the salt. We should be the hands and feet of Jesus here on earth. We should be doing what Psalm 119:15 and 16 say: I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.

We have to be faithful first of all to God and the rest will follow.

Right or wrong – or is it?

Recently there was an incident at a Spur steakhouse where a white man threatened a black woman because their children had a fight in the play area. According to a large sector of the white community at large the incident wasn’t handled correctly by the management of Spur and they decided to boycott the restaurant. Instead of a matter of general decent manners it has been turned into a race issue. I have seen the slogan ‘Spur must fall’! I am not even going to try to debate who was right and who was wrong. It really doesn’t matter because if we are going to fall into the trap of judging every incident as right or wrong we are going to make ourselves very unhappy.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). It is so easy to influence and manipulate people by what you say. You justify actions, you do the guilt trip thing, you do whatever it takes to make people do what you think you are justified in doing. Before you know it you have a large following and you are acting like a politician. So what are the implications if Spur does fall? A whole lot of people lose their jobs and maybe some families don’t have any employed members anymore and maybe crime escalates. But you are justified in what you are doing so you don’t care.
What would Jesus have done if someone had taken the Spur incident and all it repercussions and put it before Him? Would he have judged right and wrong? Or would He have said what he said to the woman caught in adultery – “Go and sin no more.” He said that the one without sin should pick up the first stone. Which one of us is without sin?
When Jesus spoke to the woman at the well He knew that she was living with a man she wasn’t married to. “for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband;” Jesus never told her that she was bad and that it was wrong to live with a man if you aren’t married to him. He never condemned her actions at all.
What about Zaccheus? (Luke 10:1-10) He was the chief tax collector at Jericho and he stole money from people by demanding more taxes than were rightfully payable. He was working for the government and cheating people. Does that sound familiar? Well, Jesus didn’t sit him down and tell him how bad he was, and neither did he ignore him or make him understand that he would not associate with a criminal. Jesus had dinner at Zaccheus’ house! By loving him, Jesus caused him to realize his wicked ways. He repented and paid back everything he had stolen and more.
Then, of course there was Mary, who poured out a jar of expensive perfume over the feet of Jesus. His disciples were indignant because Mary was a woman of ill repute. (John 12:1 – 8) Jesus never condemned Mary for being a prostitute.
Looking at all these incidents which had judgement potential I am seeing a pattern. I am seeing that Jesus never condemned people. He loved them. And because He loved them they changed. Are we able to do the same? Is it really necessary to incite people over social media to join your negative protest? Jesus says in Matthew 7:1 – 2, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgement you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
I would hate to be judged on the sins I commit. Can you imagine? Every thought and every word – I shudder to think. What did Jesus die on the cross for then? A few years back everyone was wearing those bands that said WWJD? Well, What Would Jesus Do? Would he condemn our actions or would He love us?

What about love and peace instead of judgement?