Cause for a Pause
By Grant Gaines
In our culture today, we like things fast. When we order things online, we can’t wait for the standard five to seven business days for the product to arrive so we pay twice as much in shipping than we do for the actual product in order to get it the next day. We don’t buy cars with a V6 engine, we buy the V8 version so that we can race out of the stoplight like the Indianapolis 500. And when we buy running shoes, we pay $50 extra for the pair that is three ounces lighter because everybody knows how much a little ounce can really slow you down!
But even as our culture is shifting up gear to a faster and faster pace, there is one thing that you never want to rush—a good steak.
I want you to imagine the best steak you have ever had. Can you smell the pleasant aroma, feel the tender texture, and taste the explosion of flavor? Delicious, isn’t it? But after you wipe the drool off your face, I want you to imagine what it would be like if the fast paced mentality of our culture seeped into the restaurant industry. What if instead of cooking your filet mignon on a crackling wood fire grill, the restaurant killed the cow out back and then immediately flopped the bloody meat onto a plate and served it to you…cold and uncooked. I know that some of you like your meat rare, but that’s a little too rare and raw for anyone’s taste.
There are just some things you can’t rush—steak is one of them and gentleness is another.
In Philippians 4:5 (NIV) we are commanded to, “Let [our] gentleness be evident to all….” This doesn’t mean just to be gentle when you feel well rested, when your kids are behaving, and when everything is going your way—anyone could be gentle in those times. Instead, this verse is commanding us to be gentle when it is difficult to—when you’re feeling sick, when the grocery store line is long and you have a schedule to keep, and when your boss inconsiderately throws another task on your already full plate—that’s when we are to be gentle.
And just like a good steak takes time to cook, a gentle response requires you to marinate on your answer before speaking up—that’s what Jesus did in John 8.
This is the story of the woman who was caught in adultery and brought before Jesus. As you’ll remember, Jesus was teaching in the Temple courts like He often did when, “The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The Law of Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing Him” (John 8:3-6, NIV).
Not only was Jesus in a high pressure situation where He literally was being asked to determine this woman’s fate, but you also have to understand that despite this woman’s wrongdoing, Christ was madly in love with this girl—just as He is for every human being on the face of the planet including you—and was about to die on the cross for her sins.
Can you imagine the anger, rage, and fury that would be pulsing through your veins if someone took your beloved daughter and paraded her mistakes in the open public for all to see? Those must have been the emotions that Jesus felt at the time.
But rather than lashing out against the hypocritical Pharisees and venting His anger, John 8:6 (NIV) continues on to say, “…But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger.”
Much study and speculation has gone into what Jesus wrote at that moment but rather than revealing what Christ wrote, John is more concerned with pointing out that fact that Jesus paused before answering His critics. Instead of saying the first thing that was on His mind, Jesus was able to collect His thoughts, calculate His answer, and respond, gently, by saying, “…Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7, NIV).
Just like a good steak, Jesus gave His answer some time to marinate and cook in His mind before serving it out to His audience. We would be wise to do the same—to be, “…quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19, NIV). Because it’s when we pause before we answer that we give a response that’s worth the wait.
“To answer before listening—that is folly and shame.”
—Proverbs 18:13
Comments? Questions? Suggestions?
©Grant Gaines 2013
