The sin of dishonour by Deon Crafford

Matthew 25:34-40 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

Imagine for a moment a scenario where you were suffocated by a mounting mountain of debt and ever increasing anxiety building alongside that. Then suddenly someone walks into your life, settles the debt completely and all your creditors walk away satisfied. You begin fresh and clean, with no reminder of the past. How would you relate to this person who brought you this relief and freedom, knowing that you would never be able to pay them back monetarily? Is there any chance that you would do everything possible to do something that would honour them and the great settlement that they enacted for you – just out of pure joy and thankfulness. And if they asked you to promote that type of actions and behaviour towards others, won’t you enthusiastically set about doing so – just out of a pure sense of honour? A good chance, right?

So why do we then struggle to do this with Jesus Christ? If you think about it, the cross and the empty grave represents exactly such an act of complete debt settlement, on behalf of each of us. Sin and guilt had no more hold on us and from hereon in we will forever be debt-free. Why do we then struggle in the sin of dishonouring this incredible Benefactor that changed the course of our lives and destinies. Dishonouring, you may ask – how are we guilty of this? As Jesus states above, whatever we do to someone else, we do to Him. Whenever we’re short on love and forgiveness, we deny Him. Whenever our trust in Him fades and we arrogantly claim to have become the benefactor to ourselves, we devalue His person. Yes, we’re not done with sin friends; its name has just changed from disobedience to dishonour, the latter being a far greater act of sabotage of God’s purpose with His people in this world. If I indeed have internalised the blood and the life of the resurrected Christ, then any behaviour that denounces who He is, is a destructive sin. It is destructive because it either prevents people engaging Jesus Christ or it makes them turn from Him – all prompted by what they see and experience in me.

So I pray forgiveness God, that through so many things I both do and not do, I completely divorce myself from You in total amnesia of what You did for me. Even though I know You require no down-payments on the debt You settled for me Lord, You still depend on me to live, show and love Your heart to the world around me. Lord, I pray the for a refreshing of my own heart, for a jolted awakening that I opened my life to You for in-dwelling. I pray that despite my predicted failures along the way, that the nett impact of my living shall be honour to the person and the heart of Jesus Christ. Without You Lord, wretched I am; with You and honouring You, I have purpose and meaning. Help me breathe Life Lord!

Love to all