"All Guns Blazing" (Joshua 22)
Have you ever had an incident with someone where you thought you knew something as true and you approached them, with all guns blazing, ready and firing so you could set them straight only to learn that you didn't actually have the full picture? I had a somewhat similar moment to this recently with a friend I will call "Betty". I have known Betty a long time. We have experienced many different things in our friendship together. So I was surprised one day when I thought I had heard Betty say some things that struck me as a bit aggressive, a little insensitive, and totally out of character. I found myself disappointed and needing to call Betty, with my guns blazing, and set the record straight. But I have a very very good God who just as quickly reminded me of the person and friend I know Betty to be. I knew that I needed to put the emotional guns away and approach the situation in a different manor, with a loving and gracious heart that desired to give Betty a chance to clarify things for me. So I prayed and knew I needed to arm myself with questions that would give Betty a chance to give me greater clarity. I called Betty and asked my questions. I am so glad I took this approach because I received greater insight and clarity into the things I thought I had heard Betty say. We actually talked for almost 2 hours sharing our hearts with each other. I was able to hang up with more respect, love, and gratitude than I had ever had for Betty before. I can't imagine the damage I could have inflicted if I had not changed my course of action.
What does this have to do with Joshua 22? The tribes of Israel East of the Jordan had gotten news that the tribes West of the Jordan had built an altar and the Eastern tribes assumed the Western tribes had broken faith with God and were turning against him. The Eastern tribes assembled and with all guns blazing set out to go to war with the Western tribes. The things is (as we will read tomorrow) the Eastern tribes were wrong. The Western tribes had a good valid reason for the altar and it was meant to fortify their faith and stand as reminder to them of who their God is. Quite the opposite of how it looked. When I read this it reminded me of my story with Betty.
It is so easy for us to think that we understand things so clearly based on what we see, are told by others, hear, or think we experience. The problem is we can often be wrong. There are perspectives we may not be privy to, conversations we may not have heard, acts we may not have seen (or may not have seen correctly) and the list could go on. When we put our emotional and even intellectual guns away for a moment and step back and ask God to give us clarity and to help us to approach a situation armed with questions that desire to bring understanding, unity, clarity and peace then we set out on a path that will help build others up and fortify our relationships. We change from a warrior to a peace seeker. We prevent possible folly by seeking greater wisdom.
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