Stop pointing your fingers

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

You shall cry, and He will say, “Here I am.’

‘If you take away the yoke from your midst,

The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

If you extend your soul to the hungry

And satisfy the afflicted soul,

Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,

And your darkness shall be as the noonday. – Isaiah 58.9-10

We as Christians are pretty good at pointing our fingers at others in judgement and condemnation. We look out at that terrible world full of wicked sinners and if we are not careful we see their sin before we see the people. We would rather judge and condemn than help.

What a sad situation. Isaiah here says that our focus needs to on extending ourselves to the hungry, to satisfy the afflicted, and let our light shine in darkness. And then, not when we point fingers and condemn, the darkness will be like noonday.

This reminds me of the place in 2 Corinthians when Paul is talking about our motivation for ministry. He says there that the love of Christ constrains us and compels us to reach others. He says that when we are motivated by the love of Christ we no longer see people with the eyes of our flesh. We see them as souls who need the Saviour. We don’t point fingers. Instead we show them our love and we meet their needs and shine the light of the gospel.

We will do nothing by just pointing our fingers. We will accomplish much if we share what we have and shine the light.