Is my witness reliable?

Deuteronomy 19: ¹⁵ One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

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My gruff boss pulled me into his office asking me about a person who previously worked with me at another company.  I didn’t like her very much but she was highly qualified. “I don’t think she will be a good fit” I told the guy. He didn’t hire her. I wonder if people would say slanderous things about me.

• When I am blind and I want something my witness may not be reliable.
• When I am blind and full of fear my witness may not be reliable.
• When I am blind and carry bitterness or poison my witness may not be reliable.

My witness depends on how I view the person. I may see something that wasn’t there because I want the person to fail or get out of my way.  In other words I may fool myself into believing something that isn’t true and then my witness becomes false.

• GOD wants me to be a reliable impartial witness.
• GOD wants me to allow HIS will to be done so my witness has to align with HIS.
• GOD wants me to see others as HE sees them rather than stirring up the crowd.

Compassion is what GOD wants me to give people. A criminal deserves to be convicted but I must not slander the person into being a criminal. GOD will root out the evil in HIS time, my job is to be reliable, truthful and loving.

• Do you desire for a person you don’t agree with to fail or succeed?
• Do you think your words are helping people see that person in a good or bad light?
• Can you modify your witness to include your faults or are you busy talking about what others are doing wrong?
• Won’t you take your blinders off and look at your witness?

Should I get involved?

Genesis 34: ⁵ When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he did nothing about it until they came home.

⁶ Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. ⁷ Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.

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Flight delay number two got me home extremely late.  I just wanted to go to bed but, alas, I had to drive home. As I reached my neighborhood, I noticed a car with four people sitting in it parked near my block. It was a strange place to be parked but I could definitely see a vantage point on houses nearby.

“Should I call the police?” I thought to myself. Then another thought popped in my head “If I call the police then they will come to my house which is in sight of these guys. Maybe I shouldn’t. And besides, I’m tired!”

• Fear of retribution makes me not get involved.
• Selfishness makes me steer clear of someone else’s situation.
• Calculating how much time will be spent helping someone else makes me say no way, my time is too precious.

It is so easy for me to overlook what is wrong when I’m selfish. I mean I can bury my head in my work and overlook what is harmful to someone else. I can say “not my problem” but I will scream for help if it were. What should I do?

• GOD wants me involved with other people to help them in difficult situations.
• GOD wants me to stand up to something that is wrong or harmful.
• GOD wants me engaged with my neighbors to cry with them, protect them and serve them.

Yes it takes more energy, but GOD wants me to help others especially when I don’t feel like it. By the way, I did call the police and they did catch the guys.

• Are you afraid of getting involved?
• Have you practiced overlooking wrongs for so long that you won’t confront them?
• Are you the one in the wrong?
• Can you get involved in a loving way, removing your opinion and giving the gift of GOD?

What is stolen will be replaced

Genesis 33: ⁸ Esau asked, “What’s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?”

“To find favor in your eyes, my lord,” he said.

⁹ But Esau said, “I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.”

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After a very long week of unpacking, things finally looked settled in our new house.  I woke up to a very sunny day, stepped into the garage only to find the door had been left open. This was a very rare occurrence so I surveyed my belongings and noticed several items missing, one of which was a tool box.

About a year later I helped our office move. The administrative assistant said, “Here is a tool box that we no longer use, do you want it?” It had more tools in it than the one stolen from me.

• When something gets stolen from me I pout like it will never be replaced.
• When something gets pilfered I get upset because I think I can’t ever get another one.
• When something gets taken I think the sneaky will always win and I will be a wimpy victim.

Jacob stole Esau’s birthright, blessing and place with their father. When GOD told Jacob to return he did it with a bribe because that’s all he could see. Esau, who had everything taken from him, was restored fully even to the point where his coffers were bursting at the seams.

• When stuff gets taken it is only stuff and I should thank GOD for the moment I had it.
• When items get lost, broken or stolen I should thank GOD for the time I had with it.
• When things get taken it may be the removal of a distraction away from GOD.

I’m not saying I like things to be taken away from me, what I’m saying is GOD gives and GOD takes away and it’s up to HIM to replace what is stolen. Each time I have been robbed, I got something better.

• Has something valuable to you been taken?
• Has someone cheated you out of something?
• Can you pray for that person to meet GOD?
• Won’t you let GOD deal with the missing items and pay attention to HIM?