Either or — but not in the middle
Scripture reading: Matthew 12:22-30. Text: “‘Teacher,’ said John, ‘we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.’
‘Do not stop him,’ Jesus said. ‘No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us.'” Mark 9:38-40.
HOW DO THESE TWO PASSAGES OF THE BIBLE COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER?
Our Lord expressed the very same thought with two seemingly contradictory statements:
n “‘He who is not with me is against me,'” Matthew 12:30/a, and
n “‘for whoever is not against us is for us.'” Mark 9:40.
Please do not come to the wrong conclusion that these two statements contradict each other, or that our Lord wanted to play with words. Considering the situations in which these words were spoken, these two statements complement rather than contradict each other.
WHAT DO THESE TWO VIEWS TEACH US IN GENERAL?
Every important issue in life can be looked at from many different viewpoints. For example, consider the different viewpoints of the husband and his wife, the clergymen and the laymen, the believers and the agnostics, the management and the laborers, the parents and their children, and, lastly, the rich and the poor. An outsider far from the problem is not involved and may see the problem more clearly OR he may be so far away from the problem that he does not “see” it at all; he cannot see it because he is so distant. Likewise, a person who is in the middle of the problem may see it very clearly or he may not “see” it at all. We have a saying, “He could not see the forest for the trees.” A person in the middle of a problem may see small, unimportant details but not the big problem.
WHAT DO THESE TWO STATEMENTS TEACH US IN PARTICULAR?
Do not hurry with your judgment of others! Do not decide in haste who is your friend and whom you consider to be your enemy. Has it ever happened that your “dear friend” stabbed you in the back? Have you ever been surprised by a total stranger’s kindness and assistance?
Life’s situations frequently offer two diverse choices — to be either strict or lenient, to smile or frown, to be patient or demanding, to forgive or retaliate. Many times the issue is not what to say, but how best to express our thoughts or feelings. One of the secrets of life is to know how to speak and reveal our opinion in different situations.
We will get closer to the truth if we strive to consider the opposite viewpoints in addition to our own. Whoever is blindfolded by grudge, hatred, prejudice or selfishness can easily become a fanatic and a biased person. It is very difficult for this type of person to be a friendly, objective and logical one.
WHY DID OUR LORD USE THESE TWO DIFFERENT APPROACHES?
He did so because of the people’s attitude. Our Lord used the stricter statement when He spoke of the Pharisees who were against him, read Matthew 12:24. Jesus spoke in a friendlier way when he heard of the good intention of others trying to do good, read Mark 9:38-40. See also our text.
The Savior did not mention a third option in regards to siding with or against him. There is no spiritual neutrality. One is either for Him or against him regardless of which of the approaches is used. Whoever pretends to be neutral spiritually is either uncommitted or cannot care less. Our Lord made it very clear: “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No;’ anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Matthew 5:37. See also Revelation 3:16.
If the motivating forces behind our actions are positive there would be less need to be against somebody. God much rather wants to save than punish his children: “‘Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?’ declares the Sovereign LORD. ‘Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?'” Ezekiel 18:23. See also 1 Timothy 2:4.
The Rev. Alexander Jalso is a retired United Presbyterian minister living in Ligonier.