HOMETOWNING

Leviticus 13:1-59; Mark 6:1-29; Psalm 39:1-13; Proverbs 10:10

“Then Jesus told them, ‘A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.’  And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them.  And he was amazed at their unbelief.”

And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?
 My only hope is in you.
 Rescue me from my rebellion.
 For even fools mock me when I rebel.”

“People who wink at wrong cause trouble,
but a bold reproof promotes peace.”

Even Jesus had family and friend problems.  Those who lived with Him the longest, and were around Him the most, had the most difficult time coming to grips with who he really was, and what He could do.  They just could not, or would not, buy into the idea that the carpenter from down the street was anything special.  Probably, they even saw Him as presumptuous, if not worse. 

I suspect their real problem was an all-too-human one.  It can be hard to think of a family member or friend as “better” than us.  We love to compete, to compare ourselves to others.  But we hate to lose.  And to avoid losing, one of our most unattractive tactics is to drag everyone around us down.  Why else do we gossip?  What other reason could there be for jealousy?  Does familiarity really breed contempt?  It can.  More often, though, the proper diagnosis is envy.

It takes no character whatsoever to cut another person down.  It is never “for their own good.”  Gossiping, criticizing others, is a nasty, self-centered way of dealing with our own insecurities.  I know from experience that the more I am struggling, the more critical I am of others.  I’ve learned transference is a terrible way to vent personal frustrations.  Yet, the temptation can be irresistible. 

We need to resist anyway.  The alternative carries too high a price.  It cuts us off from positive relationships, spoils our perspective, and to anyone paying attention, says a lot more about us than it does the person we gossip about or criticize.  Just possibly, it could discourage a believer.  We don’t need to bring people down to our level.  God is not impressed by how well we perform compared to others.  If we must compete – and sometimes, it does seem we must – let’s make it a healthy competition.  Lift others up.  Bring others to Christ.  Build the Body of Christ.  Be the best at putting others first.  And remember what gossiping tells others about us….