Learning to Listen #4

In Matthew 18, Jesus is talking to His disciples about how we are to live in relationship with other believers. We are not to seek to be top dog, but humble - almost childlike in dependence. We are to seriously consider if our sinful actions are negatively impacting those around us, and have a heart like He does - not wishing that any would perish, and remain lost. Then, in the middle of the chapter He says:

15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 

Do what is good for your brother or sister: if they are going around sinning, lovingly confront them; give them the opportunity to repent and be changed. This is not for your sake, as much as it is for theirs. They need to learn to listen: to people they are hurting, to the Holy Spirit, and to the church. This will not only restore them to proper fellowship with us, but also with God, so that we can pray together and have Him listen to us.  What does it mean when we refuse to listen? We have become arrogant, uncaring, and believe we have done nothing for which we need forgiveness.  So, lest any of us come to think that way, Jesus closes the chapter with the parable of the unforgiving servant. This call to confront a sinning brother is not to become a free-for-all, where we throw accusations at one another, because "you hurt me", but is actually  a way to reinforce the truth that we are all sinners needing forgiveness, humiliy and lessons in learning to listen to one another, and especially God.