Citizen's Arrest

1 Corinthians 13:1 (NET) - If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

I enjoy old movies and old television programs.

One of the old television programs in syndication that I still enjoy is The Andy Griffith Show.

I vividly remember the characters, some of the story lines and even some of the dialog.

One of my favorite episodes involves the characters Gomer Pyle, who was portrayed by Jim Nabors, and Deputy Barney Fife, who was portrayed by Don Knotts.

In that particular episode, a great deal of tension arises because first one and then the other makes an illegal U-turn on one of the streets of Mayberry.

Gomer makes the first illegal U-turn and Deputy Fife proceeds to write him a ticket.

Gomer pleads with Barney not to write him the ticket, but Barney is determined to uphold the letter of the law and writes him the ticket anyway.

Barney then gets back into his patrol car and makes the same illegal U-turn to go back to the Sheriff’s Office.

Gomer sees Barney do the very same thing for which he was cited.

He starts yelling, "Citizen’s arrest! Citizen’s arrest!" and chases Barney on foot.

The townspeople gather around. Barney gets out of the patrol car and wants to know just what Gomer is yelling about.

Gomer then declares that he saw Barney make an illegal U-turn and adds that as a citizen of the United  States in the town of Mayberry he  hereby arrests Barney.

The crowd cheers. Gomer and Barney begin arguing. The crowd around them grows ever larger.

Sheriff Andy Taylor, hears the commotion and seeing the growing crowd goes to investigate.

Not wanting the situation to further escalate, he takes Deputy Fife aside and instructs Barney to write himself a ticket.

There is, of course, much more to the story and many of you are likely familiar with it.

What then, you may well ask, does all this have to do with matters of faith?

A great deal.

In these days of social media, it is all too easy for Christians to criticize those that are not especially as relationships are first established.

As a Christian, I utilize social media to stay in touch with friends.

I also utilize it to make new friends and share my faith.

As a follower of Christ, I very much want to be a good ambassador for Him.

I want to bring others to Him so that they too can obtain the salvation made possible by Grace alone.

Yet, sometimes in our zeal and enthusiasm it becomes all too easy for us to become very critical of others especially where social media is concerned.

When we become critical and jump on every imperfection, many who have not yet come to know the Faith stop seeing us as ambassadors.

They begin to see us merely as characters , like Gomer, who love nothing more than running around shouting "Citizen’s arrest!" at the top of our lungs. As a result, we end up actually driving others farther away from Him.

I am not saying that we should lower our standards by "liking" and "sharing" things which we feel are inappropriate.

I would never suggest anything of the sort.

What I am saying is that we should follow the example that Christ set for us.

Jesus saved his harshest criticisms for the religious leaders and teachers of the law.

Matthew 23:15 (NET) - "Woe to you experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and see to make one convert, and when you get one you make him twice the child of hell as yourselves!"

It is important to remember that these same leaders accused Jesus of eating with tax collectors and sinners.

Do you remember how Jesus responded?

Mark 2:17 (NET) - When Jesus heard this he said to them, "Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

How did Jesus deal with sinners?

In the eighth chapter of John, the Pharisees bring to Jesus a woman "who had been caught committing adultery."

They remind Jesus that the law demands that she be stoned to death. They then ask, "What then do you say?"

John 8:7 (NET) - When they persisted in asking Him, He stood up straight and replied, "Whoever among you is guiltless may be the first to throw a stone at her."

One by one, they walked away until only Jesus and the woman remained.

He asked her if anyone condemned her.

John 8 11 (NET) - She replied, "No one Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you either. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore."

What a marvelous example Jesus set for us.

He set many more as well.

Jesus did not criticize the thief on the cross.

Instead, Jesus offered him pardon and the gift of eternal life.

Social media can be like a spiritual minefield for the believer.

It is also full of opportunities for us to share our faith if we follow His example.

Having faith is a wonderful thing, but Paul reminds us that we must treat others with love.


Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The  Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, July 19, 2013.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, July 26, 2013.