Day 65 - Jude

Jude...it's a short little book.  One page in the Bible.  It's got some serious stuff.  Jude deals mostly with troublemakers in the Church.  He says of them:

"They are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others or their own advantage."  Jude 16

Grumblers.  Faultfinders.  Negative Nancies.  You ever come across them in Church?  A Negative Nancy will destroy any organization, whether it's a church, team, family or business.  No one wants to be around faultfinders and grumblers.  After a while, we get discouraged and we simply don't want to be around that person.  Negative energy comes from negative people, and, like Jude says, those people usually boast about themselves and have a hard time finding any fault in the mirror.  That kind of thinking and attitude will cripple any healthy organization.  Healthy systems need team players and encouragers.  This is especially true in the high-stakes ministry of the Church.

Now, Jude doesn't just rebuke.  He gives some better direction in verses 22-23:

"Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear."

Be merciful.  Reach out and snatched them.  Operate with the fear of God.  This is called compassion.  Treat others with compassion, mercy, and encouragement.  Any organization filled with these kinds of people will succeed, especially in Kingdom work.  So, you choose which kind of influence you are going to be:  grumbling and faultfinding OR merciful and encouraging.  I know which one I want to be.