My pastor (Dr. Lance Ketchum) comes to visit me weekly. We always talk about the previous Sunday's messages. (My wife graciously gets print-outs and mails them to me every week). On 4-20-08 the message was about selfishness, and how the selfish sin of scorn develops from angry/bitter feelings. These scorners hold people in contempt, are self-righteous and hold people to higher standards than others. My pastor said that something that caught my ear when we were discussing the sermon: "They view people as disposable".
A disposable item is one that can be used for awhile until we're sick of it and then be tossed in the trash and buried in a stinky landfill, never to be seen again. How can we ever think such a thing about a person, whom God loves so much, that He sent Christ to die for him? We do because we are selfish. We expect more from someone else then we expect from ourselves. We don't openly admit this, oh no! But secretly we avoid or shun that person. We non-verbally, through our actions/attitudes look down on them, and don't see them as God sees them; a lost soul that needs a Savior, or a fellow believer that needs help in his/her spiritual walk. I felt convicted when he said "disposable person" because I've "written some people off" in my own life.
Oh, I still love them dearly but not as God loves them. I'm not confronting them about their sin (in a loving manner; Galatians 6) and helping them to grow, or leading them to true salvation. Instead, I'm avoiding them and avoiding the confrontation. First, I'd have to humble myself and ask for forgiveness for being a scorner, and then have boldness to talk with them about their sin. You can only reach someone if you are open, honest and real with them.
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