When I was a child, we used to play a game called, “Got Your Back.” Two players, one wearing a blindfold, would stand back to back. The other team would try to attack the blindfolded player with a squirt gun.
The person with the open eyes was to watch out for the enemy and whirl the blindfolded person around, keeping them out of the line of fire. The same “got your back” principle should also apply in spiritual things.
Thanks to the devil and one of his favorite tools, the blindfold; it can be easy to be caught “blind-sided” by sin. We are to be concerned for each other in our daily walk. James 5:16 says to confess our sins to each other and pray one for another. Praying for each other is an important part of fellowship ministry.
The Bible doesn’t say that we are to ignore sin. It says we are to deal with our OWN sin first (Matthew 7:4-5). There is no scripture found that tells us to ignore sin, in our own lives or the life of others.
In Matthew 18:15-17 Jesus personally gives instructions on how to approach a believer who is in sin. 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 goes so far as to say we should “judge” each other within the church. Galatians 6: 1-2 instructs me to be alert and reach out when I see a brother/sister stumbling and restore them lovingly.
Galatians even warns that I should use caution because I could fall prey to the very same sin I see somebody else doing. I Corinthians 10:13 says that we are ALL tempted, temptation is common. It is important to hold behavior up to the light of the Word; letting the Spirit bring conviction. Whether in my own life or the life of others, it is God’s Word that “judges,” not my personal “take” on sin.
Maybe, we should re-think our approach? Stop worrying about the perception of “judging” and start actively helping to keep each other away from the enemy. We can watch each other’s back through prayer, loving counsel and the revealing light of God’s Word. Perhaps all the hoopla over “not judging” has been satan’s way of numbing us to the awareness of our responsibility to each other? I hope you “Got My Back.”
Galatians 6:1-2 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin; you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Prayer: Father, God, help me to always be aware of satan’s tricks. Help me to first examine my own life and attitudes and then keep a discerning eye open for satan’s attempts to trap my friends and loved ones. Give me wisdom and make me sensitive to the Holy Spirit so that I know how to speak to those who are being deceived without making offense or hurt. Remind me to cover my friends in prayer, knowing that they face the same temptations that I do. Amen.
Scriptural References:
James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Matthew 7:4-5 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Matthew 18:15-17 “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
Corinthians 5:9-13 I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”
I Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.