I Samuel 2:17
“Thus the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for the men despised the offering of the LORD”.
Eli’s sons were helping him in his ministry. People would come to the temple with their sacrifices. The sons would inappropriately take some of that for food. If the worshippers resisted, they would threaten them. This gave God a bad name and tainted the worship process.
The pharisees of Jesus’ day sinned in a similar manner. Jesus was upset with them because they also misrepresented the Lord and interfered with the people’s relationship with God (Matthew 23:15).
We need to be careful that we represent the Lord properly to others. It’s done in words and deeds. Times will surface when we introduce God’s thoughts on issues. These are from the bible. Our culture may differ greatly from God’s views. The moral compass of culture is often different from the bible.
We often get uncomfortable when sharing scripture. Part of this is from regions in our culture that are hostile to the bible. They are very vocal. The entertainment industry often portrays that view in movies. They also cast christian characters as intolerant, ignorant or socially incompetent. We often anticipate rejection or fear coming across in an inappropriate manner.
We should be confident in our sharing (not arrogant). We are in a relationship with a loving God that wants to help them. The Lord has blessed us so. We can share that. We can point in scripture how the Lord wants to meet their need.
The manner in which we share is important. Regardless of the relationship, love, acceptance and warmth should be present. We could be right about the message, but wrong in our delivery. It needs to be done in love.
Lord, thank You that You use us in sharing with others. Give us courage, the right message and love.