“NOSEY CHRISTIANS”

BIBLE READING: John 21                            

                In the last chapter of the book of John, Jesus questions Peter’s commitment to His work.  After Jesus commands Peter to “Feed My Sheep”, he describes the type of death that Peter would undergo for Him.  Peter then turns and sees the Disciple whom Jesus loved (who is believed to be John), asked “Lord, what about this man?” (John 21.21).    It seems to be human nature for us to want to know what is or what will happen to others.  If social media has taught us anything, it teaches us that we are constantly intrigued about the lives of other people.  In this passage, Peter is no different than anyone else.  He wants to know what will happen to John.  The answer Jesus gives Peter is worth noting, “Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remains until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” (John 21.21-22).  In essence, Jesus is telling Peter, “That really is none of your business! You take care of yourself…you follow Me and leave the rest to Me”.  The lesson for us today is this, although we might want to be nosey and concerned with affairs of those around us, we better just be concerned about ourselves first.  Christians today are constantly comparing themselves to others, in what they do or don’t do.  It gives us comfort in knowing or feeling that we are better Christians than they are, or that we aren’t as bad of a sinner as they are.  All that does is gives us a false sense of security. The only comparison that we need to make is the one between us and Jesus, and when we do that, we see that we are always found wanting.  Therefore, instead of wasting our time concerned with how we compare to others, our time would be better spent in improving ourselves and how we model Christ.