¶ Welcome and Previous Episode Recap
Hey everybody , welcome to another Wofo , yo Short . This is C-Dub . In our last full episode , bones and I were talking about the weightier matters of the law . Jesus says you focused on basically the minutia but you've neglected the weightier matters of the law . And he named three things .
He named justice , mercy and faith and we also discussed in that how justice and mercy if you were to look at it philosophically , they're kind of on opposite ends of the spectrum and we actually have in Christianity .
We have those that will gravitate toward justice or judgment , legalism at times , but it's hellfire and brimstone all the time , all the time , all the time , and never any grace . And then there's also times where it's mercy and and brimstone all the time , all the time , all the time , and never any grace .
And then there's also times where it's mercy and compassion mercy and compassion , mercy and compassion . And the next thing you know you've got drag queens up in your church trying to convert your kids . That's out of balance . What happens to be in the middle is faith . What happens to be in the middle is faith , and faith keeps you from going
¶ The Balance Between Justice and Mercy
too far to the right and too far to the left . And also we had mentioned in our first season , that faith by another name is simply trusting God . There's people that have a whole doctrine , a whole industry , if you will , on preaching about faith and there's some value in what they're saying . There's also some overboard .
So I just want to talk about can too much of a good thing be evil in this of a good thing be evil in this ? And if you look up in the Hebrew , which is ironically the same word that the Egyptians use for their sun , god , the Hebrew word for evil is ra , and what it meant it could mean generically . It could mean
¶ When Good Becomes Harmful
evil , you know , go figure . But also more specifically , it could be translated as harm . So what makes something evil ? Corsair's intent , but harm , is it harmful If something's harmful to you ? One of the best passages that I remember was when Joseph is confronting his brothers about how they sold him into slavery .
He said you meant it for evil , you meant it to harm me , but God meant it for good . Also , we had an episode or two where we were talking about the days of rebuilding , where we talked about Nehemiah and we talked about Ezra .
About the days of rebuilding , where we talked about Nehemiah and we talked about Ezra , and especially with Nehemiah , he said that there was somebody that tried to entice him to go into the inner chamber . Basically he said I knew he meant me evil . In some translations it'll say I know he meant me evil . In other translations , I know he meant me harm .
In other translations , I know he meant me harm . So how do you know what's evil ? Well , it's harmful , and we have to keep that in balance , because harmful does not mean unpleasant . Okay , those are two opposite things . So if you have too much judgment , you're going to be in trouble , even under the auspices of justice . We're calling it justice .
Well , it gets into vengeance . Then that's harmful . True justice is not harmful . Compassion , mercy is that harmful , lord ? No , it's great Too much of it . To where there's never any boundaries set , to where everybody can get away with everything , even when it's at the expense of justice .
If we have so much justice and judgment that it's at the expense of compassion and common sense , are those harmful ? You bet you , it can be harmful Technically , by saying that you can be so compassionate that you're evil . You can be so justice , justice , judgment that it becomes evil . And as we said before , faith is that middle ground .
Faith is what keeps you in line . It keeps you from going to the right hand or to the left too far . It's what keeps you on the straight and narrow path that Jesus talks about .
¶ Short-Term vs Long-Term Sacrifice
So another aspect of this what's harmful versus what benefits ? Think in terms of short-term and long-term . We talk about sacrifice and here in America , especially in certain circles , we like to talk about sacrifice , and a lot of what we're defining as sacrifice isn't even really sacrifice .
On the other hand , if you think of it in these terms , sacrifice is something that you're doing all the time , whether you are conscious of it or not . When it comes to short-term pleasure versus long-term reward or vice versa , it is a form of sacrifice .
If you look at the Bible characters of old , those that were wise were those that sacrificed in the short term , no different than doing PT in the morning . If you're willing to sacrifice , if you're willing to endure some short-term pain , then you have long-term results .
If you're willing to endure some short-term fatigue , then you will have long-term results of a better life overall . Now , if you're going to sacrifice the long-term for the short-term , that's harmful . You're putting off rewards for the sake of immediate pleasure and that becomes harmful . I've seen it with family members , I've seen it in myself .
This is something that I have to confront daily with every decision that I make short-term versus long-term , one of those things about . Is it evil ? Am I doing myself harm If I forego prayer , if I forego relationship with God , even for church activities , if I forgo these weightier matters , these important things ? Kind of like Jesus talking with Mary and Martha .
Martha wants to do all these activities . Mary sits at Jesus' feet . Mary builds the relationship more than Martha does . They both love Jesus , but he says one's more beneficial . So if I
¶ Building Relationship With God
get distracted , if I don't build a relationship with God and I focus on the short-term pleasure of entertainment , then there's going to be a long-term expense . Therefore , you can be so entertained that it's evil , even if you're watching Christian TV , because getting entertained is not building a relationship . Entertainment is entertainment .
If you're getting entertained in your church , it's getting entertained in a different location . So ask yourself this Is it short-term pleasure ? Is that all I'm living for ? Because if that is your highest operating goal , then it's going to lead you to ruin and therefore it's evil .
If it's going to be a long-term blessing , even though there's short-term and immediate discomfort , it's not evil , it's a blessing . It might be a blessing in disguise , but it's a blessing . So I just want you to think about that . You're always sacrificing something .
You're always sacrificing either the future for the immediate , or you can sacrifice the immediate for the future .
It's something you're already doing , but pray , get in the Word for yourself and ask the Holy Spirit which one you're doing and to bring it to mind when you're getting ready to make a bad decision and , by all means , that trust and that faith maintain that relationship so your faith is established
¶ Final Thoughts and Outro
and it'll keep you from going too far to the right or too far to the left , which is evil . Vofoyo . Hey everybody , thanks for listening . We hope this challenges you and causes you to grow . You can always check us out at vofoioorg or subscribe on Apple Podcasts , spotify or Audible , or check us out on YouTube .
For Bones and myself , this is C-Dub reminding you if you're going to grow , you've got to Wofoyo . Get in the word for yourself .