Pointing Fingers

July 3, 2017 at 5:15 am Leave a comment

At the end of his epistles, the apostle Paul often includes a section of personal greetings to people in the congregation to whom he is writing. At the end of Romans, for instance, Paul includes a lengthy list of greetings:

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me. Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew. Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord. Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too. Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them. Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the Lord’s people who are with them. (Romans 16:1-15)

I would guess that, as you began to read through the list of names above, your eyes quickly skipped to the end of the paragraph. After all, a list of names isn’t exactly riveting reading. But take a moment to go back and note how Paul describes the people on his list. He describes Phoebe as a faithful supporter of his ministry. He lauds Priscilla and Aquila as ones who risked their lives for him. He calls Andronicus and Junia “outstanding.” He celebrates Persis his as “dear friend.” He fawns over Rufus’ mother as his surrogate mother. Paul, it turns out, has a lot of good things to point to in lot of good people.

In both the church and in broader culture, we seem to be much more comfortable pointing at people in order to criticize them rather than pointing to people in order to celebrate them. I am part of a church body that, sadly, can spend so much time pointing at people with whom we have theological disagreements that we can fail to point to people with whom we share a common faith, even if our confession of that faith differs at certain points. In broader culture, one needs to look no further than our nation’s capital to see a whole political system that trafficks in pointing fingers at other people. Republicans point at Democrats. Democrats point at Republicans. Sometimes, it seems as though the only ones people actually point to in Washington are themselves.

As Christians, we must never be scared to point at something that is wrong. Wrongness, after all, needs to be corrected so it can give way to righteousness. But let us never become so proficient in pointing at what is wrong that we forget to point to all that is good. People in differing ecclesiastical factions still have plenty of good things to point to among each other. People in opposing political parties still have plenty of good things to point to on the other side of the aisle.

Perhaps it is time for us, like Paul, to make a list of good things and people to point to. Pointing at people can quickly dissolve into arrogance as we pontificate on how someone else is wrong. But pointing to people can keep us humble and give someone else a much-needed boost of confidence as we put the spotlight on what they are doing right. Not only that, but pointing to others is supremely godly, for it mirrors the character of Jesus, who relentlessly pointed not to Himself, but to His Father.

So, who can you point to this week? Who can you give a glowing review to? Who can you celebrate on Facebook? Who can you, even if you disagree with them on some things, rejoice in as a fellow-traveler in Christ?

Now is the time to begin a list of people to point to. You just might be surprised at how quickly that list becomes really, really long.