Judges 12 – “Truth/Perception”

Judges 12 – Brandon Hatmaker “Truth/Perception”
Austin New Church – South Austin Cares
Friday, September 12th, 2008

This is kind of a random thought for today...

"The men of Ephraim called out their forces, crossed over to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, "Why did you go to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We're going to burn down your house over your head." Jephthah answered, "I and my people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and although I called, you didn't save me out of their hands. When I saw that you wouldn't help, I took my life in my hands and crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave me the victory over them. Now why have you come up today to fight me?" - Judges 12:1-3

Sounds like the first case in history of "Screening" a call. People got ticked!

So let’s talk about that… I’ve done it. Not to any of you reading this of course (smile). But, I’ve screened others I just didn’t want to talk to at the time. But typically (majority... maybe even 98% of the time) if I don't answer a phone call, there is a reason for it. Sometimes I just don’t hear the phone. I often forget to take it off silent. But when I do intentionally “screen”, it's usually because I'm in the middle of something important, a conversation, project or task, I might even be resting for a moment or spending time with my family, etc... Most of the time it's because I want to make sure I am not rushed when I DO talk with that person, especially if it's important and they need my attention.

However, It's amazing how easily frustrated I can get when I think someone is intentionally screening me. I should get frustrated with myself (because that's a telling event), but my nature is to be skeptical and quickly assume stuff about that person and relate it to how they feel about me. And honestly... I shouldn't assume anything... you know what they say about assuming.

This is just a minor issue of life that we deal with… but when you “know” you’ve been screened, the emotion you feel is a great example of a reality: There are two sides to every story. Whether it's reality or perception, our perception IS our reality, even if just for the moment. That doesn't make it TRUTH, but it makes it personal.

So just a quick relational thought for the day: As believers we should work on this through putting ourselves in others shoes more often. Whether it's our kids, our wives, friends, co-workers, other church members... and what about the homeless, abandoned, lonely, hurting, sick (the list goes on and on). Jesus told us to live for God and live for others... they all count.

We should “consider” one another more often. This doesn’t mean we have to take every phone call, but we should learn from how we feel when certain situations, attitudes, and neglect are point our way… and learn from them.

Just one more way to put others first. I’ve got a long way to go.