Stuck In The Honey

“You can catch more flies with honey”, my mother would tell me. I love this saying because of its implications. I don’t need to know the origin of this saying to appreciate its significance.

In today’s scripture reading James is really bringing this idea to life. He begins by addressing a huge hindrance to this idea in that we should not be passing judgment on the lives of other people. His argument being that our lives have their own issues.

James reminds us that sin has no categories in the eyes of God, and no one’s sin is worse than another. In God’s economy, sin is sin, and the penalty is the same for it all. If we are honest we’ll admit that it’s humans who make categories for sin in an effort to justify our actions. The tragedy is we alienate the people we are called to reach as well the people we intend to build up. The heart of what James was trying to convey is as simple as this, love people. Jesus commanded us to love others as we do ourselves. Isn’t it crazy that we find ourselves judging the actions of others as if we have it all figured out!? As if we are somehow better than that person. It’s no wonder so many people have a hard time seeing Jesus in us when we act like that.

When we read the Bible we see Jesus was accepting and welcoming of all people. To take a step further, Jesus continuously rebuked those that thought too highly of themselves. It’s an extremely difficult task to tell people God loves them when we are struggling to be loving towards them. A kind heart is more important than being right, and a kind heart remembers that we too were in need of the love of God, and the truth is we still are. Our mission as believers is to show the love of God to the world so that they will be inspired to allow themselves to be wrapped in His embrace. Jesus was always surrounded by people, not because He was critical or judgmental, rather He was loving and accepting. If Jesus didn’t come to judge the world but to save it (John 3:17), how much more should we follow His example? So, may we become as sweet as honey in order that we might attract some to Jesus.