He told me, He told you.

Convictions, we've all got them. That place where we draw the line. Our own personal belief about right and wrong. Those little (or big) issues where the Lord tells us, "no-no."

Convictions are a tricky thing. They can be so deep rooted that they are literally at the core of who we are, what makes us tick, what makes us, us. And we'd like everyone else to be like us too. Wouldn't we? Be honest. How much simpler would your life be if everyone agreed with you? Mine would be great. No more trying to get people to see my side of things, they'd already be there. Whew! What a time saver!

Isn't it easy to take the very things the Lord nudges us about (yes, nudges, He's kind like that) and use them to preach or dare I say it? berate those that don't feel and believe the same.

He told me, so, He told you. Or did He?

There was a person who was convicted not to drink coffee. Is coffee a sin? No. Is being addicted to anything a sin? Probably. So this person came home and told her family they were no longer to drink coffee. The befuddled family wanted to be honoring so they all stopped their coffee consumption. Until one day it clicked, 'Wait, the Lord didn't tell us not to drink coffee. He told you not to drink coffee. This is not His issue with us.' The Lord told her, not them.

Think about this:

Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

OK. So those of us that are parents know this one by heart right? What if we thought about this verse in the perspective of God being our parent, our heavenly Father? And what if, God was training up each of His kids in the way THEY should go. Them personally. Just them. On a journey He designed with them in mind. With a plan and a purpose for them to accomplish for His Kingdom. Interesting... 

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that we each have a different plan and purpose to fulfill. I'm not splitting hairs here. I know the big picture of what we're meant for. I'm talking about the path to fulfilling that big picture. What that journey looks like for us. What He's saying to us along the way. No two of us are alike.

And if that's the case then perhaps no two convictions are alike. I'm not talking about clear cut Bible defined sin here people. I'm talking about gray areas. Areas open to human perspective and interpretation. All those areas we'd like others to agree with us on. Back us up. Be like us.

I know it's got me thinking. Examining that if I'm so bugged by the fact that people try and push their convictions off on one another, that some will tell you to your face you are wrong for not believing and thinking the same, that it means I've probably been doing the same thing. Maybe not in an "in your face" kind of way. But the more subversive ways. The heart attitudes, the way I judge, the way I think about how others approach life.

How about this passage from The Message:

Matthew 7  "Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor."

Yikes. I'm challenged just reading that. The words "just living your part" seem to jump off the page at me. Wow. There's a sermon in there somewhere. I'm challenged to improve the measure of grace I give out. Challenged to accept that my convictions are between the Lord and I and He has me just where He wants me. As long as I'm obeying Him, we're good. And I'm challenged to leave you to your journey with Him. 

Doesn't mean I'm not up for a discussion with you. Doesn't mean I won't offer my opinion. But I'll leave the convicting to the Lord.