Pothole Pointers

By Glenn Miller

GOD’S WORD: “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” – Philippians 4:8

We all know people who can brighten a room just by walking in. Likewise, you and I can probably name names of a few people who can also brighten a room, simply by walking out! Call them what you may:  Mister or Miss Negative, Gloomy Gus, Debbie-Downer, Sad-sack Sally, whatever. These are the people who breed negativity, divisiveness, and conflict on a regular basis. They are in every corner of our world, the workplace, our homes, the malls, and yes, even in our churches.

In the latter, I’ve come to call this people “Pothole Pointers” because, to me, it seems that these people feel it is their contribution to the kingdom to point out and illustrate all that is wrong; practically every time being after-the-fact and on things where failure and/or deficiency is already quite obvious. These people serve only one purpose: to be used as instruments of The Deceiver to rob believers of their focus and their hope; to bestow judgment instead of encouragement.

But before you hit that reply button and tell me I’d better be careful about what I say about the brethren and sisters, let me first confess my aptitude in this matter is based not merely on observation of others, but also on me. At times, I am weak and let the enemy use me in ways that, in hindsight, did nothing for the glory of God or serve any practical purpose either. Like Flip Wilson used to say, “The devil made me do it!” But I can’t blame the devil for doing his job; I can only blame myself for leaving the door open and inviting him in. Perhaps you can relate.

The good news is that even with Pot-Hole Pointers, there is redemption and repentance! No longer do we have to be slaves to sin, but can awake each day as “new creations” in God’s kingdom, with a purpose to promote love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control, the fruits of the Spirit. We can decide right now that, as Bing Crosby crooned, “We’ve got to Accentuate the Positive”. We’ve got to remind ourselves that we are saved by grace and not by our perfection; and that God is sovereign over all things and all people.  The choice is ours.

There are a ton of potholes in this world to point to this day. The news on the TV this morning points to all those potholes quite nicely, thank you very much. But before any elected official, any stimulus package, any legislation will turn this world of ours around, it must first start with each of our hearts. We each need to make a conscious effort to sow seeds of love, faith, hope, and peace; even when it seems impossible to do. The world needs to see that our faith has legs; that all we say and believe in are not just words, but that when the going gets tough, we still turn to our Lord for strength, peace, security, and providence.

The potholes in life will still be there. Jesus didn’t call them that in the red-letter words of the Bible, but He meant the same thing. As believers, let’s take hold of our faith in God’s faithfulness; that He is still in charge and pothole repair is His job.

He will then use us and show us what is the proper way to repair them and in doing so, we will glorify God.