29 March | Youth
«Now as they were eating, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.”» Matthew 26:21
Have you ever heard a sermon and felt like it was tailor-made for you? It happens. And it is not always easy to deal with it! However, the worst problem occurs when, instead of taking what we hear as a lesson for our own lives, we apply it to the lives of others. At the last supper, the attitude of Jesus' disciples illustrates this reality well. The Master revealed that one of them would betray Him. Then they began to dodge and accuse each other. Everyone there had flaws. Betraying or not betraying Jesus would only be a matter of time and circumstances. Judas would hand over Christ, Peter would deny Him three times, and the rest would flee, fearing for their lives. If they were all at risk of betraying Jesus, why did one try to convince himself that the problem lay with the other?
On one occasion, a pastor preached a sermon about how gossip destroys relationships in the church. It came in handy. Members of that community were often involved in intrigue and defamation. At the end of the service, one of the biggest troublemakers in the church approached the pastor and said: “Great sermon! It is a shame that the person who needed to hear it most did not come to church today.”
We are experts at projecting our flaws onto others. This is why we sometimes push people away from us. Thinking that the problem is always someone else's, and never mine, is an attitude that destroys friendships, ends marriages, makes work difficult and infantilizes people who should be striving to be better than they are. Do not wait for someone else to change. You change first. Even if “the other” leaves the church or moves, the problem does not end. Do you know why? Because I stayed and I did not change.
The solution is to look in the mirror, especially at that part with which you do not identify or recognize as yours and for which, therefore, you do not seek a solution. The Bible calls this repentance and confession. This process begins when you stop demanding changes from others that you yourself are not willing to make. It is a different, unusual attitude, but one that God, with His infinite power, makes real. Pray to Him today for help and say: “Lord, I want the reality of the church to change, starting with me!”