The church is a collection of professing sinners. So we shouldn’t be surprised when toes are stepped on, feathers are ruffled, and hackles are raised. We will at times offend, upset, betray, disappoint or simply annoy one another. Sin is still at work among Christian believers.
Most of the time we take the faults and foibles of others in our stride: we tell ourselves, “That’s just them … That’s the way they are … Don’t worry about it, move on.” We want to be obedient to the Bible: “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8).
So that we aim to let the small stuff go: ignore it, overlook it, and don’t hold on to it. Our default approach is that if the problem is big enough, serious enough, public enough … then alright … we will tackle it by talking to offending party seeking to address sin and resolve the situation in a godly way.
But I wonder if we are missing an opportunity for Christian growth and godliness here?
Somewhere between the trivial and trifling indiscretions that should be overlooked on the one hand, and the serious and dangerous sins that should be confronted on the other hand, is a middle-ground of what might be called “character issues” that need attention.
Because we live in a culture that doesn’t like confrontation, we frequently put the “character issues” of other members of our church in the No-Further-Action bucket. But these are the perfect issues to work on to see real Christian growth.
Some reasons to move beyond ignoring all but the biggest issues:
1. We look at the depth and power and pervasiveness of sin at work in our lives differently; we look at the height and glory and grace and forgiveness of Christ in a new light.
2. We are aiming to cooperate with God’s work of transforming lives for the glory of Christ.
3. We learn the skills to approach and address real but not necessarily disastrous issues. There is an art to engaging a Christian friend about their faults aiming at what is best for them.
4. We learn how to listen to others as they address our character issues in a context where there can be more light than heat about the problem.
5. Working on mid-range “character issues” can help avoid neglected problems from turning into big sins.
6. We develop a culture in our churches of consciously working on resolutions rather than secretly nurturing resentments.
7. We are constantly reminding ourselves of the pattern of and shape of the gospel: faith and repentance. That is the way into the Christian life, and it is the way on in the Christian life.
I like to think of these “character issues” as fire drill opportunities. We get to practice engaging one another on real but manageable issues so that when the big and tough issues come along, we know what to do and have had some practice doing it. Along the way, everyone is growing in Christian grace and godliness.
