Walk the Talk: A Men's Bible Study in JamesSample

Wires Crossed

Getting wires crossed can be both dangerous and frustrating. Imagine diffusing a bomb without the knowledge of which wire is which. Or more likely for most of us, attempting to fix our home appliances but not knowing anything about its wiring. There will either be a blast or a dud at the end of your attempt.

Previously we spoke of staying online and in line with Christ through consistently studying His Word and listening to the Holy Spirit. Today we see that we also get our spiritual wires crossed when we fail to do the above.

Our primary purpose as humans is to connect with God and connect with others. This is seen in Jesus’ greatest commandment as also referred to by His little brother, James. As a result, we will then also get to connect others to God…

So, there’s a natural flow from the top-down: Connect to God. Connect to Others. Connect Others to God…

Sounds simple enough, and in theory, it is. But in practice, well we need more practice. Most of us have our prejudices. Some of us don’t like certain people according to the way they act, speak, look, or smell. Some of us have distain for others based on different opinions, different beliefs, different cultures. But what if we had God’s perspective on everyone? Is that even possible, you might ask?

With God, all things are possible, including changing our perspectives. If we were to ask God to give us his perspective on people and situations, we will go through life with mercy instead of judgement. With more peace and less prejudice. With love and less loathing. Sure, you will still have your likes and dislikes, and you won’t necessarily get along with everyone. But you’ll see others the way God sees them, allowing you to deal with them both truthfully and gracefully.

If we are to connect with others, be it at church, at home, at work or in public places, we will be better at it if we firstly connect with God on a regular basis. And it should go without saying, you can’t make lasting connections between things that have no point of connection to begin with. Therefore, if you want to also connect people to God, as we ought to, you need to connect to both God and people as well.

Let us then stop crossing our wires, living with the frustration of life’s broken appliances. Let us stop crossing our wires, having to deal with the fallout of relational disconnections. Let us start dealing with our loads of prejudices as men, not by trying harder to like someone or something, but by allowing God to give us His perspective on matters.

Connect to God. Connect to Others. Connect Others to God.
And get your wires in check…

Reflect on the following…

1. Let’s be truthful, what prejudices do you have towards people?

2. How can you allow God’s perspective to influence the way you see and treat others?

3. What do you specifically need prayer for today? Pray about it…