S4 E8 - Leaving Obstacles In The Road

On my way home from Georgetown, KY the other night, I ran into a bit of trouble...literally. My trip was going off without a hitch, until there was one...literally. Someone had dropped a hitch with a massive drill bit being used as a pin on it in the middle of the road, and didn't see it in time with it being so dark and I hit it. Shredded my tired two minutes from home. That figures. 

We have to be careful because we could do the same to others, and I don't mean leaving things in the middle of the road. I mean leaving a stumbling block for others. Our actions do not only impact us, they impact others as well. Before we do the things that we do, even if we know they are pleasing to God, we should first consider the impact they might have on others coming up behind us. 

#SetYourMindAbovePodcast

Transcript

What if I told you that God could be seen in the most ordinary things every day? 

What if I told you that every day, ordinary events could teach us extraordinary eternal truths? Would you believe me? 

 Welcome back to season 4 of the Set Your Mind Above Podcast! My name is BJ Sipe, and I am a Christian, a preacher, a husband, and a father. And I’m excited to share a few moments together with you learning some important lessons from the simplest things. Thanks for tuning in! 

I had quite the adventure last Saturday night that I just had to share with you all this week. It all started with me making my way up to Georgetown, Kentucky in order to hear my dear brother Joe Hardy present the gospel. If you would remember, Joe was our summer intern over the 2023 year – and being able to watch his continued growth from a short distance away has been one of the most encouraging things to me. He presented a wonderful lesson on drawing near to God through His creation, His word, through prayer, and through our fellowship with one another. After saying goodbye to Joe and his family afterwards, I jumped in my car and made my way back towards Danville – about an hour and fifteen-minute drive. The drive was going great – I had stopped in at Red State BBQ for a late dinner, called my folks, and was just enjoying the time to myself. I finally got myself into Danville and was about 2 minutes away from home, grateful that my short but late trip had gone off without a hitch…until there was one. Literally. 

I was almost to the roundabout on highway 2168 when the truck in front of me swerved violently to the right. I started to look to see what he was swerving to avoid and at first couldn’t make out anything – the highway I was driving on was pitch black and had no street lights. As I came around the slight curve in the road, suddenly it was upon me – and it was too late. A hitch had come off of someone’s car of out of someone’s truck and was just laying right here on the left-hand side of the lane. I swerved to avoid it and missed it with the front end of my car…but nailed it with my back left tire. As soon as I hit it, I knew I was in trouble. This wasn’t like running over some roadkill, something had come off this metal frame I had hit and immediately destroyed my tire. Lights started going off all over my dashboard, flashing and beeping at me like I was in a plane going down. I took the first exit out of the roundabout and pulled off the road underneath the lone streetlight going towards our house so that I would be better seen and have better lighting to assess the situation. I put my flashers on and hopped out of the car, hoping that what I would see was something that I could possibly lug the rest of the 2 minutes home and into my driveway. With one glance, I knew this was not going to be the case. Apparently, the hitch that I had hit had a massive drill bit that had been used as a pin attached to it. It was protruding through the side wall of my tire, and with perfect timing rolled out at my feet as I was jumping out of my car, leaving a gaping inch wide hole in the side wall of my very, very flat tire. 

I picked up the massive broken off piece of metal and looked up to see about 20 eyes peering at me through the fence. Apparently, my little ordeal was fascinating to the cows grazing alongside the road. I held up the drill bit and said, “Sorry cows, looks like I ran into a…bit…of trouble tonight.” I couldn’t be prouder of myself. A dad joke is still a dad joke, even when shared with livestock. 

I decided to just have the vehicle towed to the shop rather than change my tire since it needed a break job the following Monday anyhow, so I made a request through State Farm and got comfortable in the back of my Subaru while I waited. As I sat thinking about what I had just experienced, the entire ordeal had me thinking about how similar of an experience we can go through as Christians with others if we are not careful. Obviously, it won’t be a hitch, but we can leave all kinds of obstacles in the way for others to stumble over in their walks of faith. In Romans 14, Paul is going to deal at length with what is commonly referred to as “Christian Liberties”. As a whole, Paul is addressing proper attitudes that we must have towards one another – recognizing that our actions are not only important in the impact they have on our lives, but the impact they have on others. Beginning in verse 12, Paul would write: “So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore, let us no longer judge one another. Instead decide never to put a stumbling block or pitfall in the way of your brother or sister. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. Still, to someone who considers a thing to be unclean, to that one it is unclean. For if your brother or sister is hurt by what you eat, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy, by what you eat, someone for whom Christ died. Therefore, do not let your good be slandered, for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever serves Christ in this way is acceptable to God and receives human approval. So then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another.” (Rom. 14:12-19). 

There is so much that we could say about this passage, but let’s just give some brief context to help us understand. In that day and culture, many times meat that could be purchased at the marketplaces had come from an animal that was previously sacrificed to an idol. For some Christians, this was no issue to their conscience – meat is meat, regardless of where it came from (see 1 Cor. 8). However, for others, such a practice violated their conscience for different reasons. Perhaps they came out of idolatry, perhaps they felt they were honoring or worshiping something they had walked away from. Whatever the reason was – for them it was wrong. So what is Paul’s advice? In the larger context, it is to accept one another because God accepts them both – but in the immediate context, Paul’s point is this: don’t let what you do in faith become a stumbling block to hurt a fellow brother or sister in Christ. My friends, we must pay very close attention to our actions – because they do not just impact us, they impact others. Perhaps there are things that we engage in with full faith, knowing that what we are doing is acceptable to God…but is it possible that in doing so we are putting a stumbling block unknowingly in the way of others? Now do not misunderstand the application here – Paul is not suggesting that those who are weak in faith are allowed to determine everyone’s liberties around them (he makes this clear in vv. 1-10 & vv. 22). But Paul is saying that we must consider the impact that our actions or practices have on others, especially to their knowledge and in their presence. Our motivation for all we do must be love, to put the spiritual interests of others around us first above my own personal preferences. Rather than getting specific, I want to leave this application broad for you to examine in your own conscience. What kind of things do you post on social media? What kind of things do you wear out in public? What kind of shows are you watching? What kind of music are you listening to? What kind of food and drink are you consuming? If the things we are engaged in are not pleasing to God, they must be put away from us for that reason alone. But even if they are approved by God, have you considered the conscience and spiritual interests of others as well? The last thing we should want to do is put a stumbling block in the middle of the road for another Christian to get derailed by. We have been given freedom in Christ, but that freedom is not with the intention to serve ourselves, but rather serve others in love (Galatians 5:13-14). May God grant us wisdom and maturity in our spiritual walk, and may the intent of every action in our lives be founded in love, pursuing peace, and doing whatever is in the best interest of others. 

This has been the Set Your Mind Above Podcast, season 4 episode 8 – and I’m so thankful that you decided to tune in today! A new episode is dropped most Fridays, so be sure to listen in again next week! Also, if you’re able to, go ahead and like and subscribe to the podcast, as well as share it with someone else – it would help me greatly in trying to reach others. And more than anything, always remember the following: know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.