Latest / My Brother's Journey / Walking the Talk: Faith, Forgiveness, and the Gap in Between
Transcript
- 0:00SPEAKER_01: Hey, welcome back to my brother's journey.
- 0:03SPEAKER_01: I'm part of the tag team.
- 0:04SPEAKER_01: Greg Josephuk with me as Baron Fink.
- 0:06SPEAKER_01: Baron, great to see you.
- 0:08SPEAKER_01: See you too.
- 0:08SPEAKER_01: So excited.
- 0:09SPEAKER_01: Uh again, this beautiful day that we have out here.
- 0:12SPEAKER_01: Um hey, so I've got an interesting topic for us, but before we go there, can I toss the prayer over to you?
- 0:19SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
- 0:19SPEAKER_03: All right.
- 0:20SPEAKER_03: Father, son, Holy Spirit, amen.
- 0:21SPEAKER_03: Dear Lord, help us on our mission to bring people to you, Lord.
- 0:25SPEAKER_03: Help us with uh with a conversation, through our conversation, through our actions, uh, and through our prayers uh to fulfill that mission.
- 0:32SPEAKER_03: Christ's name we pray.
- 0:33SPEAKER_03: Amen.
- 0:34SPEAKER_01: Amen.
- 0:35SPEAKER_01: Amen.
- 0:36SPEAKER_01: We have a third person in, I don't know if you'd call this the studio, the room, the room with us.
- 0:41SPEAKER_01: That's our good brother Tom from Bible Study.
- 0:44SPEAKER_01: And uh Tom, you're welcome to weigh in on this topic at any time.
- 0:49SPEAKER_01: Uh but uh so here's the this is this is what I want to talk about today, uh and and and get your your some of your thoughts on it.
- 0:57SPEAKER_01: Um so you know, Jesus had some really radical teachings, actually.
- 1:04SPEAKER_01: Uh if you if you if you study the New Testament, he you know, he had some really radical teachings.
- 1:11SPEAKER_01: Um and uh you know I was just wondering, as I was kind of pondering this, even myself, what are the ones that you uh struggle with?
- 1:25SPEAKER_01: He commands us to do things that are challenging.
- 1:29SPEAKER_01: And you go through the through the New Testament, there are several different ways he challenges us.
- 1:36SPEAKER_01: Um, and uh, you know, I'm gonna talk about some of the ones that I'm challenged with, but I'd love to hear kind of your perspective on what, you know, one or two or three uh teachings does the Lord have uh in, you know, that he's handed down to us that are particularly challenging to you.
- 1:56SPEAKER_01: I I'd be curious to hear it.
- 1:58SPEAKER_03: I think, you know, um I think sometimes it's it's not always easy to to turn the other cheek, you know, and and to not uh to get defensive about something when someone says something, but rather the just to to you know give them the you know grace in the moment to say, hey, and not take what they said to me to mean something that the way I construct and and to give them the benefit of the doubt that they didn't mean that to be hurtful.
- 2:26SPEAKER_03: And and that's not always that's not always easy.
- 2:28SPEAKER_03: It's you know whether maybe I don't necessarily respond in in kind saying, hey, you know, that was me.
- 2:36SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna say something mean to you.
- 2:37SPEAKER_03: But I can also just get quiet and and not um and kind of tune them out.
- 2:43SPEAKER_03: And that's you know, that's not a great thing.
- 2:45SPEAKER_03: That's not not what Jesus teaches, but it's hard to do in you know in reality.
- 2:50SPEAKER_01: It's extremely hard to do.
- 2:51SPEAKER_01: I I I totally agree with you on that.
- 2:54SPEAKER_01: And so how how do you how do you overcome that?
- 2:59SPEAKER_01: What what have you been doing that?
- 3:00SPEAKER_03: I I think you know, it's it's actually uh Greg, it's funny you mentioned that because uh you know our previous podcast, we were just talking about kind of our growth and our path and stuff like that.
- 3:09SPEAKER_03: And I think it's only only gosh, I could say in the last six months that I've really kind of started to focus on that more and to and to to try to be purposely, intentionally try to be Christ.
- 3:20SPEAKER_03: Like and say, hey, here's an opportunity, all right?
- 3:23SPEAKER_03: And in the past, I've always done this, which has not been the right thing to do.
- 3:26SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I'm gonna try a little harder.
- 3:28SPEAKER_03: And I'm sometimes I'll succeed and sometimes I won't, or I'll get over it quicker, or whatever.
- 3:33SPEAKER_03: But that's it's something where it's kind of something it's one of the many deficiencies that I've pointed out myself and and how I live that I need to work on.
- 3:41SPEAKER_03: And so therefore, it becomes more you know, front and center to me.
- 3:45SPEAKER_01: So you've so you so you recognize that and you've really intentionally become focused on trying to overcome that that particular commandment, that challenge.
- 3:55SPEAKER_01: Yeah, sure.
- 3:56SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's awesome.
- 3:57SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
- 3:58SPEAKER_01: Um about you?
- 3:59SPEAKER_01: I mean, you you brought this up.
- 4:01SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so wow, you know, uh, you know, you know my story.
- 4:06SPEAKER_01: I'm such a work in progress here.
- 4:08SPEAKER_01: Um so I would say really, there's there's actually three of them for me.
- 4:14SPEAKER_01: Um the first one I would say is the commandment to love your enemy.
- 4:20SPEAKER_01: Me talk about a radical teaching, right?
- 4:23SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, if you if we were to put ourselves back into those times, it would it would have certainly been love your family, maybe love the people of your faith, but it would not be love your enemy.
- 4:37SPEAKER_03: So I have to interject here just for a second because you know, for for those who haven't been around, Greg, so I remember when we first started this Bible study, you know, four, three or four years ago.
- 4:46SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 4:46SPEAKER_03: We were in this room and and that that teaching came up.
- 4:50SPEAKER_03: And I can you recount your response?
- 4:52SPEAKER_01: I do remember that.
- 4:54SPEAKER_01: I I I remember it.
- 4:55SPEAKER_01: I think I I think I said something along the lines of I I admitted that uh I I I'm a handgun owner and that I kept kept a handgun by my nightstand.
- 5:08SPEAKER_01: And I believe I said, you know, this is one that I struggle with.
- 5:11SPEAKER_01: You're right, this was four and a half years ago.
- 5:14SPEAKER_01: And I said something along the lines that, hey, I'm just telling you, if you break into my house right now, I'm gonna shoot you dead.
- 5:21SPEAKER_01: Pretty sure that was pretty close to I do believe that.
- 5:25SPEAKER_03: And it's called a number of people up there, including me, thinking, wow, wow, there's there's a wide range of people in this group.
- 5:33SPEAKER_03: Your idea to start this podcast, and it's just like, wow, talk about a transformation.
- 5:38SPEAKER_03: But anyway, I'm sorry to interrupt if I had to.
- 5:40SPEAKER_03: No, no, no, no.
- 5:41SPEAKER_01: That's that's all right.
- 5:42SPEAKER_01: I it's so funny you you bring that up because I remember that being the first thing, and I remember saying at the end of that, I I would be wholeheartedly understand if you guys throw me out of this Bible.
- 5:53SPEAKER_01: And somehow you've stuck stuck with me.
- 5:55SPEAKER_01: So I appreciate that.
- 5:57SPEAKER_01: So yeah, so that one, you know, um, that was a it is a radical teaching.
- 6:02SPEAKER_01: It's one that I still you you know, you guys know this, uh, being uh obviously living in in the United States of America.
- 6:11SPEAKER_01: Um you we've seen this kind of unfold before our eyes over the last at least 10 years or so, right?
- 6:21SPEAKER_01: This divisiveness in because of political reasons.
- 6:25SPEAKER_01: And people, even within their own families, it's such a huge issue that literally over politics, we got people in families that won't even talk to each other.
- 6:35SPEAKER_01: That's how kind of crazy it's gotten.
- 6:39SPEAKER_01: And um, and you know, I I'm ashamed to say that I I used to be really uh kind of a that used to be a lightning rod for me.
- 6:52SPEAKER_01: It you know, uh I had a very strong uh belief in one of the parties.
- 6:57SPEAKER_01: I'm not I I won't say which one, doesn't really matter, but I defended it vigorously, right?
- 7:02SPEAKER_01: And and it was like, okay, like if you want to pick a fight verbally, let's go, you know.
- 7:08SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, that's just so so so against what Christ teaches, right?
- 7:14SPEAKER_01: Um, not only am I supposed to um be charitable and listen to the other person's view, but I don't have to agree with it, but I have to understand and love that person, even though I might be vehemently against what their beliefs are.
- 7:33SPEAKER_01: But understand that that person's a child of God, and that I don't know if they're my enemy necessarily, but if they are, even if they are my enemy, even if they, you know, call me names because of my political belief or whatever, Christ instructs me to love them, and I'll tell you that's one I struggle with.
- 7:52SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm still working through that.
- 7:54SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I'm still uh I'm still trying to take the proverbial uh uh bullet out of the chamber.
- 8:04SPEAKER_01: So uh so that's one.
- 8:06SPEAKER_01: I I'll tell you another one that I struggle with is um Christ says, you know, and I'm paraphrasing, I might not get it exactly right, but uh how can you see the speck in your brother's eye, but not the log in your own?
- 8:22SPEAKER_01: Meaning, uh, you know, how can you criticize someone, tear them down, you know, kind of rip them apart, gossip about them, and not realize that you have your own flaws.
- 8:34SPEAKER_01: And um again, um you know, there's a side of me that uh I can't stand.
- 8:44SPEAKER_01: It's that whole fight or flight side, right?
- 8:48SPEAKER_01: And most people would walk away.
- 8:50SPEAKER_01: Most people say, uh, you know, that's not the way I was raised.
- 8:54SPEAKER_01: I was raised, uh let's all right.
- 8:56SPEAKER_01: Uh I mean, maybe not physically put them up, but certainly verbally put them up.
- 9:00SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm ready to stand my ground.
- 9:03SPEAKER_01: And uh wow, you know, I I I I that one is challenging, but it leads, and I think we we once talked about this before in one of the podcasts, that whole thing about pride and how pride is such a deadly, deadly sin.
- 9:18SPEAKER_01: It just it just causes so much harm.
- 9:21SPEAKER_01: And I see that that that's a glaring deficiency in me.
- 9:25SPEAKER_01: It's one that I've it's the it's certainly a thorn in my side, as as St.
- 9:29SPEAKER_01: Paul would say.
- 9:31SPEAKER_01: Um, and it it and it's it's destroyed a lot of relationships when I look back over time.
- 9:36SPEAKER_01: It's destroyed a lot of relationships.
- 9:39SPEAKER_01: Um and so I I certainly would hope anyone listening to this podcast um to not head down that path.
- 9:46SPEAKER_01: Don't head down the path of feeling that you have to be right and the other person has to be wrong, that it's a uh uh what is it, uh net zero or net zero zero summer.
- 9:57SPEAKER_01: Thank you, thank you.
- 9:58SPEAKER_01: A zero sum game.
- 10:00SPEAKER_01: Um, because I did believe that for a long time, that it was a zero-sum game.
- 10:04SPEAKER_01: And you know what?
- 10:05SPEAKER_01: To me, that is Satan.
- 10:07SPEAKER_01: That is Satan whispering that in your ear, saying, hey, you know what, you've got to, you've got to stand your ground, you've got to prove them wrong.
- 10:15SPEAKER_01: You've you know, you don't.
- 10:16SPEAKER_01: That's not at all what Christ teaches.
- 10:19SPEAKER_01: Not at all.
- 10:20SPEAKER_01: And if you're doing that today, all I would say is like run in the opposite direction.
- 10:26SPEAKER_01: Run into, you know, again, I've gotten to know you, my brother, oh, certainly through the Bible study, but more closely through the podcast and everything.
- 10:34SPEAKER_01: One of the things I admire about you is your spirit.
- 10:38SPEAKER_01: You you you are a very humble and gentle person, and it that's so far from the guy that I am, but I admire that.
- 10:47SPEAKER_01: And um, and I think that's actually why maybe this podcast works so well, kind of the yinky yank.
- 10:56SPEAKER_01: But but I'm telling you, that you know, the that one about not being so critical of other people.
- 11:05SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm still I'm still working through that one, Tom.
- 11:08SPEAKER_01: I'm looking in your eyes.
- 11:09SPEAKER_01: I'm working through that one.
- 11:11SPEAKER_02: Yeah, how about you, Tom?
- 11:12SPEAKER_02: Well, you actually hit the top two for me, and and one was loving your enemy.
- 11:18SPEAKER_02: That's hard.
- 11:18SPEAKER_02: That's that's very, very hard.
- 11:20SPEAKER_02: The second one is to not be judgmental of others, yeah.
- 11:24SPEAKER_02: Right?
- 11:24SPEAKER_02: We're not to judge.
- 11:25SPEAKER_02: God judges, not us.
- 11:27SPEAKER_02: And and those two I run into, you know, with the divisiveness that's going on, I I run into that.
- 11:35SPEAKER_02: And I have to remember that I'm not the judge, and I gotta back away.
- 11:41SPEAKER_02: But to be honest, it's hard to do.
- 11:43SPEAKER_02: It it really is.
- 11:44SPEAKER_02: And the love your enemy is always challenging.
- 11:48SPEAKER_02: I know I'm supposed to I've gotten to the point, to be honest, where I I I don't hate, but love is another step, is a higher, is a higher step for me to reach.
- 12:00SPEAKER_02: And I'm not successful in that always.
- 12:03SPEAKER_02: I'll be honest, I'm just not successful, and I have to work on that.
- 12:07SPEAKER_02: Um, but at least I got out of the not hating, and which is uh I guess a baby step in the direction.
- 12:14SPEAKER_02: I I would put it that way.
- 12:15SPEAKER_01: I think it's actually a big step in the right direction.
- 12:17SPEAKER_01: I think the first step has to be I don't hate them anymore.
- 12:21SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 12:22SPEAKER_01: Um and and I think that's a gigantic step.
- 12:25SPEAKER_01: And then the next the next gigantic step is oh, okay, well, if I don't hate them, then I guess Christ tells me I gotta love them.
- 12:32SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 12:33SPEAKER_02: And that's hard.
- 12:34SPEAKER_01: That's hard.
- 12:34SPEAKER_01: And that's hard.
- 12:35SPEAKER_01: That's hard.
- 12:36SPEAKER_03: Ironically though, once you once you have gotten past that, I mean, there's there's no fun in carrying around hate.
- 12:42SPEAKER_03: No, I mean it's it's it's destructive.
- 12:46SPEAKER_03: And it's just it's a horrible thing.
- 12:48SPEAKER_03: And so it's a choice, and if we make the right choice, we actually benefit from that in terms of just peace.
- 12:53SPEAKER_01: Well, and you know what?
- 12:54SPEAKER_01: That that's such a good lead up to I said there were three, and um, so my third one is is where one of I think it's one of the disciples asked Jesus, how many times should I forgive my brother seven times?
- 13:08SPEAKER_01: And he says, No, not seven, but you know, seventy times seven, right?
- 13:12SPEAKER_01: And so it's you know, the next one is is just this whole forgiveness, you know, to forgive people, especially people that you're really close to that have hurt you deeply, um, by either their words or their actions, or maybe a combination thereof.
- 13:31SPEAKER_01: And you know, that that's one thing that I I've I've learned over time.
- 13:39SPEAKER_01: Um there's a lot of hurt in this world.
- 13:42SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of you know, we you meet people and you really don't know their full story, you don't know what's gone on in their life, but um and when you're hurt or hurting or still processing that hurt, sometimes the last thing in your mind is I want to forgive, right?
- 14:04SPEAKER_01: It's like, man, you hurt me, I don't want to forgive you.
- 14:07SPEAKER_01: I I'll never forget that.
- 14:09SPEAKER_01: And yet it's like just like hatred, it's so destructive.
- 14:16SPEAKER_01: It is so destructive carrying that baggage.
- 14:19SPEAKER_01: And Christ realizes that.
- 14:21SPEAKER_01: He's like, no, forgiveness, it's gonna set you free, you know, and and and and that's the whole point of us seeking reconciliation with the Lord is so it'll so that's you know our bondage of sin by having the Lord absolve us from that will set us free.
- 14:41SPEAKER_01: Well, we need to do the same thing.
- 14:43SPEAKER_01: We we we bind other people by not forgiving them.
- 14:48SPEAKER_01: And um and yet, I'm hearing myself say all this, by the way.
- 14:53SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, yeah, but you gotta live that, Greg.
- 14:55SPEAKER_01: You can say it, but you gotta live it.
- 14:57SPEAKER_01: You gotta believe it, you gotta do it.
- 15:00SPEAKER_01: And those are the those are some of the more for me, those are some of those more radical teachings that Jesus commanded us to do.
- 15:12SPEAKER_01: That yeah, I'm still I'm still working through that.
- 15:14SPEAKER_01: I mean, um, you know, it's it's it's sad to say I'm you know in my mid-60s and I'm still working through those those teachings and those challenges now that you yeah.
- 15:26SPEAKER_03: Oh, absolutely.
- 15:27SPEAKER_03: Absolutely, you know, and and um Yeah, you mentioned it, Greg, and I and I, you know, I don't really have this I can't think of this in my well, I can think of this at least historically speaking, even on family.
- 15:38SPEAKER_03: You mentioned about family, and and you know, Father Bernard was telling us off the record last time about a situation with uh you know presiding over a funeral.
- 15:46SPEAKER_03: And and he was speaking in a broader terms as far as people taking the time to come and see somebody at their funeral, but not prior to that, not not making amends if and if they a lot of times it's it's where you know brothers and sisters haven't spoken in ten years and that kind of stuff.
- 16:02SPEAKER_03: And a lot of that goes back to the pride, goes back to the uh you know unforgiveness for taking a comment the wrong way or whatever else.
- 16:09SPEAKER_03: And you know, forgiving them in your heart is one thing, but but uh actually making that uh you know public, if you will.
- 16:18SPEAKER_03: I mean going to and letting them know, hey, all is forgiven, and I love you, and I want to reconcile the relationship just like we want to do that with God, we gotta do it.
- 16:28SPEAKER_03: Those people can't forgive them from afar is is not the same as as actually making the effort so that they know that that doesn't exist any longer because they will get benefit from that as well.
- 16:39SPEAKER_03: And that's that takes courage, and it takes you know that's something you have to pray for.
- 16:45SPEAKER_01: That's the word I would say.
- 16:46SPEAKER_01: It takes courage because what we what we're being challenged to do is to swallow our pride, humble ourselves, and go in front of someone who has hurt us and say, I forgive you.
- 17:03SPEAKER_01: Even if you're not asking for my forgiveness, I forgive you and I want to restore our relationship.
- 17:10SPEAKER_01: I want you to know that I I've turned the corner on that, right?
- 17:14SPEAKER_01: And um, yeah, I mean, but then you think about, you know, he humbled himself to the cross.
- 17:21SPEAKER_01: So I mean, this is nothing compared to that, right?
- 17:24SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but you know, Jesus never said that being a follow of hers was gonna be easy.
- 17:28SPEAKER_01: In fact, he said just the opposite, yeah, right?
- 17:30SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and these are the kinds of things where I think human nature maybe steers us in one direction, like, oh no, stand your ground.
- 17:38SPEAKER_01: But Christ says, no, no, that's not right, right?
- 17:41SPEAKER_01: Follow me.
- 17:42SPEAKER_01: And he says, you know, the you know, the entrance to heaven, right?
- 17:46SPEAKER_01: The gate is narrow and few get in.
- 17:49SPEAKER_03: Well, and once he talks about, you know, hey, hey, you're bringing your offering to the object.
- 17:53SPEAKER_03: If you got a problem with your brother, you leave that offering.
- 17:55SPEAKER_01: Go go solve a problem with your brother and then because that's more important than this.
- 18:00SPEAKER_01: And so that would mean the way that I interpret it as that if you have a problem with your brother or sister, whoever, right, you can't be coming into mass church and saying, hey, you know, I'm here to worship, I'm you know, rah-rah, rah, and you're like, well, wait a second, you're not walking the talk.
- 18:21SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
- 18:22SPEAKER_01: You're you know, and to me, I guess the way I look at it is that when you're not walking the talk, the first word that comes to mind is hypocrite.
- 18:29SPEAKER_01: Sure.
- 18:30SPEAKER_01: You're being a hypocrite.
- 18:31SPEAKER_01: You're professing, oh, I love Jesus, I'm a follower of Jesus, I believe in Jesus, I want to do what Jesus says, but no, you don't.
- 18:39SPEAKER_01: You know, you haven't even patched up that relationship.
- 18:42SPEAKER_01: And I'm saying again, I'm this is like an echo chamber in my own head because I probably still have a long list of people that I need to ask forgiveness for.
- 18:50SPEAKER_03: I think well, the hypocritical thing is is something that's not, you know.
- 18:53SPEAKER_03: I am I feel am I guilty of that?
- 18:55SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
- 18:56SPEAKER_03: You know, and I have to think I think about that all the time because I think about you know, you think you look in scripture, I mean, Jesus chose his harshest words for the Pharisees and Sadducees because they were hypocrites.
- 19:07SPEAKER_03: And and and so, am I any different?
- 19:10SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you know, I I you know I I have to be aware of that, right?
- 19:13SPEAKER_03: And I I don't want those harsh words, right?
- 19:15SPEAKER_01: And so don't be a hypocrite.
- 19:17SPEAKER_01: Wow, well, uh quite a dynamic uh conversation topic today.
- 19:23SPEAKER_03: This is supposed to be an uplifting podcast.
- 19:24SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- 19:26SPEAKER_01: Hopefully, you know what it is, it is that's true, but uh it's also one that has to be uh I think rich in reality.
- 19:35SPEAKER_01: It is, right?
- 19:36SPEAKER_01: And there's gonna be certainly times where uh topics might be uncomfortable for for for any of us, all of us, I guess.
- 19:44SPEAKER_01: And uh, but again, you know, Jesus didn't say, hey, I came to earth to make you comfortable.
- 19:48SPEAKER_01: In fact, he came just the opposite, right?
- 19:50SPEAKER_01: He said, I I didn't come to sow peace, I came to sow division, which by the way is still one of the more challenging things that I'm trying to process through.
- 19:58SPEAKER_01: And he's like, you know, families are gonna be divided, two against three and three against two.
- 20:03SPEAKER_03: Well, he didn't say it's gonna be easy, but but but but if you have faith, you know, yeah.
- 20:10SPEAKER_03: You're you're doing what God wants you to do.
- 20:11SPEAKER_03: That's right.
- 20:12SPEAKER_03: If you're you're trying to live it out as best as we as we can, even though we fail.
- 20:16SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
- 20:17SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
- 20:17SPEAKER_01: Well, listen, brothers, I it's been it's been a great morning.
- 20:21SPEAKER_01: Thank you guys for sharing your time today.
- 20:23SPEAKER_01: And uh, hey, for those of you out there, thank you for tuning in, being a part of my brother's journey.
- 20:29SPEAKER_01: Uh hey, seek Jesus and all you do and be fishers of men.
- 20:32SPEAKER_01: God bless you, and please join us again.
- 20:35SPEAKER_01: Viva Jesus.