"The Unpaid Guardians of My Soul"

Currently I am reading a book called "ReChurch - Healing Your Way Back to the People of God". It is a great book and one that I needed to read. I have been one to be very frustrated with the church and easily wounded by those within the church (as well as one to wound). There have been times that I just wanted to walk away but I knew that it was not an option. I have left churches because my feelings were hurt. I have avoided and walked away from people for the same reason(s).

The book is a healing journey into dealing with those wounds and hurts but written in a way that I have to take responsibility for my selfishness, inability to function with a thicker skin and also expecting far too much of those in leadership who also happen to be humans on that same struggling path as the rest of us.

This morning I came across a section of the book that tells of a great missionary statesman named E. Stanley Jones. He suffered a lot of criticism over the years for his unconventional ways of ministry in India. He was constantly under the scrutiny of others who felt as if his ways were improper.

The thing that stuck out to me was that he referred to his critics, even those who intended to be mean-spirited or to wound him as a person, as "the unpaid guardians of his soul". This really hit me. I want to defend myself, refuse the criticism and write people off. He took the insight of even his enemies and used that as an opportunity for self reflection that caused him tremendous peace and success. What an amazing sign of maturity and confidence in who God created him to be.

How many of us would be willing to receive what could be words of truth from someone who we know wants to harm us or slander us? How many of us believe that good can truly come out of a venomous spouting of a mouth full of hate? Stephen Mansfield says "It is a great art of living to be able to hear truth in the mouth of your enemies."

Speaking of E. Stanley Jones he says, "Think about what this means, what is required of Jones. He first had to consider the possibility that truth can come even from those who opposed him. He looked into the criticism, separated the jewels of wisdom from the dung hill of empty words, and then applied that wisdom carefully to his life. Obviously, Jones had made this a habit and felt so grateful for the good it had done him that he was able to call his critics 'guardians,' because they kept him from errors and excess, laziness and wrongheaded ideas."

Whether it comes from someone in a church or religious body, an enemy who hates us, or a loved one who has our best interest at heart, we have to let go of the pride and see that we are not always right! We must refuse the self consuming pride of "that's just tough, this is how I am and how I do it" and be open to the continuous change that needs to take place IN us even if the avenue for that change initially appears as insult and injury.

As the author concludes: "Though they shout their observations and probably intend them to wound you rather than help you, still they are giving you (me, us) insight that can help you (me, us) improve." Think about it!