The rugged places a plain.
Isaiah 40:4 NIVUK
My name is Paul and I am Scottish. No, that's not some form of confession. It's who I am. It's my identity.
We Scottish people are known for being quite rough and a little direct. Our English cousins might call us impolite and uncouth. But the good thing is that you know where you stand with a Scotsman.
For example, back in the days when concert halls and theatres were the main sources of entertainment, if an audience in Glasgow liked you, they would give you a round of an applause or a cheer. If they didn't like you, they would throw things at you: like drinks glasses, cans or even light pieces of furniture.
Like I said, you know where you stand with a Scotsman.
Now we have expensive TV screens and other devices, we don't do it so much. It's much easier, and less expensive, to just change the channel.
But this became a big problem in the church. Sometimes even church leaders could be brutally honest with you. And when they could see that you were offended or wounded or about to burst into tears, they would say, "Oh, don't be like that. I'm speaking the truth in love."
No, they weren't. If you are being so 'brutally honest' that you offend people and reduce them to tears, then there is no love there.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Ephesians 4:29 NIVUK
Construction and destruction are entirely different. They require different skill sets. You cannot build someone up by tearing them down. You either do one or the other. Not both.
This verse does not refer to a slightly gravelly path or a cobbled street. No, this is far worse. This is far more dangerous. This refers to a path that is close to impossible, to an impenetrable, impassable chain of mountain peaks where even attempting to scale them could lead to disaster.
This verse talks about people whose hearts are hardened, whose compassion is missing in action, whose mannerisms are gruff and who are the kind of people that no-one wants to spend any time with.
And I have met plenty of them. Not just in Scotland either. In other countries too.
These are the harshly, intolerantly judgmental. They are the unforgiving. They are the people who cannot accept or respect anyone who doesn't meet their standards. They are the angry. They are the bitter. They are the graceless, heartless, soul-less people who complain over every tiny thing and quite happily pull anyone down whom they don't approve of.
We talk of them and say, "They don't suffer fools gladly". Wrong. They don't suffer anyone gladly.
They are ill-tempered, tough perfectionists. You hardly ever hear a commendation from their mouths. They take no joy when others succeed.
Yet God says that, like the mountain, valley and crooked roads, they can be used to bring the glory of the Lord through the desert. But only in one condition.
They must repent.
You see, as much as such people are nuisance and drive us crazy, we cannot ignore the fact that we should treat them with grace. Jesus is a perfect example of this. He didn't pick only 'nice' people to follow Him. His disciples weren't saints at all when he called them. Peter, James and John were mouthy fishermen nicknamed the 'Sons of Thunder' (Mark 3:16-17). They even stooped to getting their own mother to try and get them a seat at Jesus' right hand in glory (Matthew 20:20-23).
And it gets more interesting. Among Jesus' followers were an anti-Roman religious zealot (Matthew 10:4), a hated, traitorous tax collector (Matthew 9:9-13) and a money-grabbing thief (John 12:6).
And that's before we reach Paul, who was painfully aware of his own highly dubious background:
Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.
1 Timothy 1:13 NIVUK
For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
1 Corinthians 15:9 NIVUK
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.
1 Timothy 1:15-16 NIVUK
You see, we might want to avoid the horrid discomfort of having to spend time with difficult people who are on the rugged road, but we can't. Why? Because of what Jesus said:
I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’
Luke 5:32 NIVUK
Difficult people might be among the most frustrating people on the planet, but they are also sinners. Sinners like us. And if God can take frustrating sinners like His Twelve Disciples and Paul and transform them into people who shook the world, what can he do with our difficult friends and neighbours?
Apart from that, we don't have a choice. If we fail to love them, we break the whole law (Matthew 22:37-40). And that would make us 'difficult people' towards God.
But the grace that we extend to travellers on the rugged road is for one reason and one reason only: for them to turn off it.
The rugged road is a dangerous road. And the biggest danger on the rugged road is to those who travel it themselves.
That might sound like a strange thing to say, but consider the example of Nabal and Abigail in 1 Samuel 25. We might think that this a nice story of how David met one of his wives. But we forget how Nabal's sour, surly, inhospitable demeanour cost him his life.
Or take Saul. A man who went from being God's chosen king, to a distracted man on a murderous hunt against one of his own soldiers out of nothing but self-preservation, to committing suicide.
Or take Ahab. A rich king who threw a hissy fit because one of his neighbours refused to sell his field, who lost the kingdom and his life because his wife murdered the neighbour (1 Kings 21:1-24).
Or take these Proverbs:
A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.
Proverbs 15:18 NIVUK
A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty; rescue them, and you will have to do it again.
Proverbs 19:19 NIVUK
Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.
Proverbs 22:24-25 NIVUK
An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.
Proverbs 29:22 NIVUK
Or what about these verses from the New Testament:
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.
Romans 12:17-19 NIVUK
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:31-32 NIVUK
But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
Colossians 3:8 NIVUK
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
James 1:19-20 NIVUK
The Bible talks of those on the rugged road, but only of their destruction. And even leaders are not at all immune (Ezekiel 34).
We can try and blame our background, our culture, our upbringing, our tough history, but the Lord will have none of it. We have been born again. We are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). We need to put off these old behaviours and attitudes and be made new (Ephesians 4:20-24).
If we have expressed views that are biased, argumentative, racially-loaded, sectarian or hateful, we must get off the rugged road.
If we have struck out in anger or frustration, antagonised, irritated or annoyed, then we must get off the rugged road.
If we have roasted, gloated, boasted or have an inflated ego, then we must get off the rugged road.
If we have measured ourselves against other people and found them to be wanting, then we must get off the rugged road.
If we are known for our witty, snarky put-downs, either online or face-to-face, then we must get off the rugged road.
If we are known for the coarseness or darkness of our humour or for filthy language then we must off the rugged road.
Maybe you're wondering why it is that I've been so direct about people on the rugged road. It's simple: those who are on it struggle with recognising where they are. And even if they recognise it, they find it difficult to leave it.
You see, people on the rugged road are often there for defensive reasons - to keep themselves or their families safe from danger and error.
But this is a major mistake. The rugged road itself is dangerous. It cuts us off from the rich blessings of being part of a loving, supportive community. The rugged road itself is full of error. It assumes that God is not able to protect us, so we have to protect ourselves.
Worse, travellers on the rugged road, with their difficult nature, are a terrible witness for the Gospel. I live in the West of Scotland. I watched man and women departing from meeting halls on a noisy flute and drum led march to a public house, where they got drunk and sung sectarian songs full of hatred. And what took pride of place at the head of the march?
A Bible.
Tell me: what does a Bible have to do with that? A Bible that preaches love for our neighbour, despite their skin colour or religion. A Bible that stands firmly against drunkenness. The Word of God has no place there!
But the Word of God has no place in the hands of anyone on the rugged road. I'm saying this as someone who has walked it: if you realise you are on the rugged road then repent and get off it as soon as you can.
It's no place for anyone who claims to follow Christ.
Comments