TAKE ‘EM TO COURT

Good Friday to You, 
Adam is a good friend of mine. He is one of our Elders at Cornerstone. He is a husband and father of four (William recently adopted from the Philippines). Professionally, Adam is a lawyer. 
Lawyers play a key role in our justice system and an important role in maintaining the rule of law in our country. Defense attorneys defend and protect. Prosecutors represent our government by advocating for accountability to our laws and statutes. We are blessed with a great system, but when you add people to the mix… 
Christian lawyers have a great ministry, but they are often forced into the middle of some ugly battles! Because I am in a *Verge group with Adam, I often hear about his struggle to glorify God at work. He never shares the name of a client or case specifics, but my heart hurts as I hear some of the circumstances of these cases. People wanting to
get or keep what they think is “rightly” theirs – it can get really ugly. People, hiding behind their lawyers and fighting for their rights, can say and do some really nasty stuff. 
We’ve all heard the horror stories. For some of us, we’ve lived it. It’s easy to see the ugliness of some of the litigation. No wonder Jesus challenged His disciples to work out their differences instead of “taking them to court (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5:25-26&version=ESV).” 
As in most situations, it’s easier to see the flaw in someone else rather than in ourselves (See Jesus’ teaching about the log and the speck (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7:3-5&version=ESV).) It happens at school, at work, in marriage, among family. 
What if all of us are unknowingly allowing our own perceived rights to negatively impact our following Jesus? 
I’m not just talking about indignantly filing a lawsuit here. What if every week we are allowing thoughts of “I deserve” and “God wants for me” to cause us to miss greater opportunities to love and sacrifice for the sake of others? This weekend we’ll study a very interesting passage (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/? search=1+Corinthians+10:23-11:1&version=ESV). It centers around the questioned appropriateness of eating meat previously sacrificed to idols. It is a situation that, at first, seems really foreign to us. But, once we understand the heart of the matter, it hits surprisingly close to home! 
Hope to see you this weekend, 
Pastor Michael 
*Verge group – A gender-specific accountability group (comprised of 3-4 people) who meet weekly to encourage each other in the reading of Scripture and the living out of life in Jesus. Verge has changed my life! Most Verge groups develop within a small group…so getting in a group is a great first step.