Liar, Liar pants on Fire!

I absolutely love Jim Carrey and I am especially fond of the movie, "Liar, Liar." One of my favorite scenes is when Fletcher gets pulled over by the police and unloads his myriad of violations in a manic, ranting manner.

It goes kind of like this:

Officer says, "Do you know why I pulled you over?"

Fletcher responds in classic Carrey character, " Here goes....I sped, I followed too closely, I ran a stop sign, I almost a hit a Chevy, I sped some more, I failed to yield at a crosswalk, I changed lanes at the intersection, I changed lanes without signaling while running a red light and speeeeeeding!"

Officer responds, "Is that all?"

Remorsefully whining, Fletcher says, "Nooooo. I have unpaid parking tickets." He bites his lip and says, "Be gentle with me."

Then, of course he hits the glove box and the plethora of repeat offenses go falling out all over everywhere.

I get that. Many times I just want to hit the unload button.
Not that I haven't already confessed it all to my heavenly father, time and time again.
But as a believer, I am supposed to be accountable to my brothers and sisters in Christ.

And, I just really want folks to know that I know, that you know.....ya know?

James 5:16 says, "Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed."

Yes. I've needed healed. But if I can be honest here for minute, "Really? Really?"

'Cause I've been around the church block a few times and I have felt like what James should have written is this, "Confess your sins to one another so that we can judge you immediately, talk behind your back and possibly stone you to death for your many unbelievable transgressions."

Just sayin'.
I know that's not the way it's supposed to be. In the church, we are supposed to "lovingly restore" fellow believers.

Sometimes, I have felt less lovingly restored and more beat with a hammer over the head.

After all, it is "his kindness that leads us to repentance." right?

But admittedly, I have rebelled against what is being taught and justified my actions because I didn't want to hear it. Noone likes to be told that they are living "in sin".

It doesn't feel good.

In hindsight, I'm actually grateful that they let me stick around long enough to help me to heal, instead of kicking me out of the front doors and onto the grassy knoll.

1 Cor. 5:9 talks about it. And I've had it all wrong.

Check it out if you, like me, have always quoted, "judge not, lest you be judged."
Which is usually exactly what we say when someone has the 411 on us and we want to justify.

Although I know it's not the same type of thing I've been talking about, I got a summons for jury duty next week and that's what really got me thinking about the whole "judging" thing.

I don't really want to be in a position of judging another person. (though I'm sure I've done that too.)

"For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you." Matthew 7:2

That goes along with the whole, "let he without sin, cast the first stone" thing.
And "get the log out of your own eye, before you try to remove a speck from your brothers."

Note to self: Don't be a Log Eye!

Sometimes though I understand and feel very much like Fletcher Reed.

So please, "Be gentle with me." :)