Today in the One Year Bible, we read from 1 Corinthians 16:1-20. Paul chastises his readers for taking each other to court like non Christians do instead of settling things between themselves, since as he points out, we will one day judge the world.
And that brings up the subject of scandal. Of course, scandal usually begins with someone doing something wrong. But not always scandal does, however, almost always involve people gossiping about someone, whether they're guilty or not.
That's why it's important for us to pray for the pope and other leaders of the church more, and criticize them less. It's easy for us to fall into the trap of ridiculing them for things they've either done or "allowed to happen", without thinking about the fact that they're human beings and are fallible. They are also not omnipotent. Things happen in the world even when good men are in charge. We can't blame them for everything that happens while they're in charge.
The devil wants to destroy the church. And unfortunately, he's enlisted the help of many Christians, who gossip and verbally attack their leaders on a regular basis instead of praying for them and lifting them up.
Let's pray more and criticize less.
God, thanks for teaching us to get rid of scandal and help people grow in their faith.
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