Settle Matters Quickly!

We all have a tendency to neglect things in our lives, sometimes it's just easier if we leave it alone. Jesus however didn't see this as the way to deal with the issue of hurting people, He instructs us as to what we need to do when we acknowledge that there is hurting people around us. Let's look a scripture dealing with this.

"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.  "Settle matters quickly with your adversary…”  Matthew 5:23-25

I want to give you three simple ways to remember to follow this scripture, Stop, Drop and Give! We will keep things simple and in order so all you have to do is remember Stop, Drop and Give!

1) STOP AND ACKNOWLEDGE THOSE YOU HAVE HURT.

Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar.  Matthew 5:23-24

Acknowledging there's a problem is the first place to start! We have many families that are hurting bad and won't heal because nobody wants to acknowledge there's a problem. Another reason for this is that we all judge ourselves differently than we judge others. We judge people according to their actions and we judge ourselves according to our intentions. We meant well and meant no harm and therefore we judge ourselves accordingly! A perfect example is a relationship between a father and son, the father knows that he means no harm to the boy, so no matter how hard he may be on him, he judges his actions according to his intentions. He judges his son according to his actions which seem to be disrespectful. This happens going in the other way as well. The son didn't mean to be disrespectful and therefore judges himself according to his intentions and judges the father according to his actions, which is, he never even tries to understand me. This is killing families all across the world!

Stop and acknowledge there is a problem is number one, now we move to number two!

2) DROP EVERYTHING TO MAKE IT RIGHT.

 …leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.  Matthew 5:24

There is an urgency here! Once acknowledgement has taken place, deal with it! Jesus says, (my words of course) don't worry about your gifts, don't worry about what's going on in the world, just DROP everything and make it right! 

Proverbs 6:2-5 tells us …if you have been trapped by what you said…then do this…to free yourself…Go and humble yourself…plea with your neighbor!  Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids.  Free yourself…

Now when you do this you may get many different response's, I know I did! Some will say "I have no idea what you're talking about" and that's cool! Others will say "No worries, it's squashed, let's love each other and move on!" But just so you know some will say "No, it's to late, it's over, leave me alone, stay away!" Hey, I just want you to be ready, I heard all of these. So you do your part and leave the rest to God. It's not always going to be the perfect outcome. If we are never going to have any enemies than why did Jesus talk about them so much? Sometimes it will not be possible to do, even Paul recognized this!

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Romans 12:18

If it is possible? Yep, that means sometimes it may not be possible. I know it tweaked my doctrine a little bit too. But let's move on to Give!

3) GIVE YOUR HEART AND GIFTS TO GOD.

First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.  Matthew 5:24

Now that you have done what you were suppose to, Jesus says "come offer your gift." That is so awesome! Now I am at the altar, before God and He is ready to receive me as much as I am ready to give of myself. Who knows what may happen between me and my Lord now? I could jump up and preach to the chairs in my dinning room right now. Thank you Jesus for a pattern to follow to get closer to you.

Here’s what Jesus is saying "the most important things in this life is, relationships!

Stop, Drop and Give!

In Matthew 22:37 – 40 when Jesus was asked what was the most important commandments, He said to love the Lord your God with all your heart! Relationship!

And then He said love your neighbor as yourself! Relationship!

Jesus Wants You Healed!

Jesus' story of the good Samaritan has struck the consciousness of America so much that hospitals have taken the name Good Samaritan. For good reason: the parable of Christ contains, what I believe, are two important principles that could solve our health care crisis. (See Luke 10:30-37 for the story)

1. Health care should be universal.
The story is about a man left for dead on the streets, and several people refuse to help. It is a Samaritan who provides help to the injured man. Out of his own pocket, he bandages the man's wounds and gives his own money to the inn keeper to take care of him and promises, "I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have" (Luke 10:35).

This story proves that health care should not be dependent on the ability of the patient to pay. Every person has a right to quality health care.

Health care is not a commodity like a new car. If I cannot afford a new car, I buy a used one or take the bus. But if I cannot afford a new kidney, I don't have the luxury of forgoing a needed surgery. Life trumps money. So we must look to see that everyone receives health care.

2. Health care should be in the hands of individuals, not the government.
The hero of the story is a Samaritan, not a Roman official. Jesus did not make the government the champion of the story, but a private citizen.

There are several reasons why health care should not be in the hands of government.
First, as we saw in the Hobby Lobby case, government will try to strip citizens of their religious rights.

Second, government is inefficient. Whatever they run will always cost more.
Third, private citizens will take undo advantage of government health care, just as it is being done in other countries.

Citizens no doubt will rush to the emergency room for minor issues that a clinic could have solved. Private citizens will demand needless tests. This will cause health care costs to sky rocket or worse, when government runs low on money, they will have to ration care.

This brings up the fourth problem of government-run health care: bureaucrats will decide whether that 80-year-old man gets a bypass surgery. It is dangerous to put the decisions of health care in the hands of the government. People are best suited to decide their own health care.

So what is the answer?

Dr. Ben Carson, the famous retired neurologist who is credited with being the first surgeon to successfully separate conjoined twins and who has spoken twice at the national prayer breakfast with Presidents Clinton and Obama, has suggested a solution to our health care crisis.

He advises that U.S. citizens when born should get a Health Savings Account. Money is regularly deposited until they die. Money left in the accounts are given to their heirs.

People will be very careful to spend their HSA wisely. They will shop for good deals. They won't rush to the emergency room over an ingrown toenail. They won't demand needless tests. They might practice healthful living.

And in their old age, they will not demand every procedure that is not likely to help them, because they will want to bless their heirs with the money not spent.

And for those who run out of their HSA or become indigent, they could be helped, since the government would likely have more money to help those rare cases of major health needs.

Dr. Carson's idea is not written on two tablets of stone, but personally, I think his solution has merit.
It's time to talk about real solutions to the health care crisis and maintain the two principles that Jesus taught in His parable of the good Samaritan.

Bishop Tom Brown, pastor of Word of Life Church in El Paso.