Imagine a quarterback who has a cannon of an arm. He can launch the ball 50 yards downfield with ease. But what if this same quarterback is unable to throw the ball accurately? Instead of throwing the ball to where his receivers are going to be, he throws it behind them, over their heads or even to players on the other team.
A quarterback like this would not be of much use to a football coach. His performance will hurt the team as often as it benefits the team. They will lose as often as they win and his teammates won’t have much confidence in him.
Meanwhile, nobody doubts the power of his arm. Everybody knows this quarterback can throw the football like a laser. And the quarterback himself knows it too. When he’s confronted about his inaccurate passes, he responds “Yeah but nobody throws the ball as hard as I do.”
Quarterbacks like this are cut from football teams on a regular basis. Why? Because power is not the only important quality for a quarterback. They also need to be smart with the ball. Not every pass needs to be launched. On many plays, the situation calls for a soft touch, an arched pass over the heads of defenders, thrown to a pinpoint location where only the intended receiver can catch it.
As Christians, what can we learn from this analogy to become more effective in our interactions?
As a believer immerses himself in the Bible, in teaching and in study, he will quickly be flooded with knowledge on a variety of subjects. He will quickly understand the spiritual realities in relationships, in the culture and in every other area of life. Armed with these truths, it would be easy and tempting for him to share his knowledge with everyone who doesn’t know what he knows.
But just like the quarterback with the powerful arm, a believer must not lose sight of other qualities that are necessary for him to be effective. Although his knowledge of the truth is important and impressive, his kindness and compassion are just as important…perhaps even more important.
“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” – Paul the Apostle (1 Corinthians 13:2)
The Apostle Paul took it a step further. He held love as the highest, most important component of our lives…above knowledge and even above faith. He clearly stated that even if he knew everything and even if he had mountain-moving faith, all of that knowledge and all of that faith are meaningless if they’re not accompanied by love.
This is a critical reminder for us who live in a culture where truth is held in the highest regard. These days, harsh comments about others are celebrated and cheered…so long as the comments are true. Even if a statement is offensive and hurtful to others, the offender will defend himself as a “truth-teller” who “doesn’t care if he’s offending people or hurting their feelings.”
This attitude would be understandable and expected in a non-believer…someone who has never felt the need for God’s forgiveness. He’s never received God’s grace and therefore has no impulse to extend that grace to anyone else. In his mind, he’s doing the world a favor by bluntly telling people why they’re wrong.
He has a trail of offended people behind him, but he’s totally justified in his mind because he’s speaking the truth. He’s like the quarterback who throws the ball hard because it’s the only thing he knows how to do. And here’s the tricky thing about a blunt truth-teller…he’s often right! If you objectively consider what he says about people, you’ll find that his comments are often accurate.
But once again, the truth alone is not the standard for those who follow Christ. It wasn’t God’s truth that saved us. In fact, many of the truths Jesus spoke were bad news for the people who heard them. Comfortable and secure in their religiousness, he made them aware of the false security they were putting in their rules and traditions.
If this bad news was all he had to offer, there would be no salvation for his listeners…nor for us. But thankfully, Jesus also offered grace and compassion. It was the look in his eyes which fully understood, fully loved and fully sympathized with people…even the ones who ridiculed him. This is how he changed people’s hearts and this is how we’re to change hearts today.
HE is our standard. He is who we are to be. This is something to consider in those moments when everyone’s going back and forth with harsh words on a controversial topic. It’s easy to point out people’s inaccuracies and flaws. It’s not so easy to pray for them, to spend time with them and fully understand where they’re coming from. But if you do, your truthful comments are more likely to be well received, even if they sting at first.
Have nothing to do with worldly gossip. Stay far away from those who use the truth like a weapon to prop themselves up and put others down. This is hypocritical for God’s people, for those who’ve been saved by grace.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – Jesus (John 13:35)