People at times refer to their lives as being like a glasshouse. Everything they do and every choice they make can be seen and is scrutinized by the surrounding public. This idea of living in a glass house can be seen in scripture. In Joshua 22 the tribes that return to their land across the Jordan River build an altar that the tribes that stayed in Canaan take offense to. In this event, we see two points that can help us deal with and avoid conflict in the future with our brethren and people outside the church.
The first point we see in this event is that, although what was done by those tribes seemed to be offensive and against the will of God, the western tribes did not immediately attack them for the wrong they committed. They sent an emissary first to get to the bottom of the problem and find out if the eastern tribes realized what they had done. Because they sent this emissary they were are able to find out that the altar was made to be a memorial not an offense to God. We need to remember that we may see things in a different way than what they are meant. We need to be careful not to jump to conclusions and make problems when there are none.
The second point we see in this event is that the things we do are seen by others. The building of this altar was seen by the other tribes and mistaken for something it wasn’t. We need to understand that things we do can be misconstrued for something that it was intended to be. We need to be ready to explain ourselves in a way that is not disrespectful to those who have questions. We need to be humble like the eastern tribe and be willing to be corrected if we are in the wrong.
We as Christians need to live in a glass house in the sense that what we do is transparent and our actions can be easily identified by those watching. We need to approach others in love when problems arise so that we don’t make problems where there are none. If we are doing the work of the Lord, then we should have no problem living in a glass house so others can see who we are.
Jacob Saarloos
