The organ music swells and the Wedding March begins, you see the Bride coming down the aisle in a beautiful white satin dress that has 12 yards of gleaming white material, no matter how gorgeous the dress is if there was one black ink spot, or a small mud stain on the skirt, your eyes would go to that spot and not see the beauty of the whole dress. Now that was the truth, wasn’t it? I was going to an event one night and decided to put a last coat of fingernail polish on, the brush dripped a dollop of the sticky liquid right on the front of that black dress. I tried to get it off, in vain. Did I wear the whole dress anyway? That would be a NO. All I could see was the spot on the front of that dress and it was forever ruined. Point? So many times people, especially in the ministry, have lived exemplary lives and something happens, a spot, and no one ever remembers any of the wonderful things they have done, only a picture of them: crying, being arrested, sitting in a court house, caught in some misdeed that has brought shame. I am not saying they shouldn’t be reprimanded, as anyone should be, I am saying that when it happens, we shouldn’t gloat! Proverbs 24:17 Don’t laugh when your enemy falls; don’t crow over his collapse. If you wish to be today’s servant, then you must also resist gloating when you have been vindicated. If Samuel had been small-minded, he would have been glad Saul had failed the test. Samuel was the only one who warned against the kingship. We therefore might expect him to shout to the housetops, “I told you so.” How do we know he didn’t do that? Because God said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel?” (1 Sam. 16:1, emphasis added). There was no gloating, only mourning. Good evidence that we can be trusted with today’s anointing and today’s stigma is that we mourn when a brother or sister slips or falls. Cain said, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen. 4:9). The answer is yes. I fear that the anointing many of us desire is largely delayed because of a rival spirit. We look over our shoulders and consciously or unconsciously compete with one another. Virtually no consideration at all is given to seeking the glory that comes only from God. We want mutual adulation more. Jonathan Edwards said that the one thing Satan cannot successfully counterfeit is a love for the glory of God. It is a temptation to compare ourselves to others, but 2Corinthians 10:12 (the Message) says We’re not, understand, putting ourselves in a league with those who boast that they’re our superiors. We wouldn’t dare do that. But in all this comparing and grading and competing, they quite miss the point. I am not perfect (and everybody said, AMEN), I say that I am a work in progress, but at least I realize that. Do I always mourn for the fallen? I am always sad to see anyone fall, be it minister, sports hero or Hollywood actor, anyone that people admire for any reason, but more-so someone who professes to know God, whether they stand behind a pulpit or sit at a desk or wear a hard hat. If someone thinks of you as a Christian then hold yourself above reproach, and if your worst enemy fails, be compassionate, knowing that it could have been YOU!
Be blessed, pray and try to see the whole dress instead of just the spot, and if you are able, find some spot remover (the blood of Jesus), and help them clean it up!
Harolene.com 