Scrolling through Facebook this week I came across this post quite a few times. This post has a great message, but I really struggled with it.
What a good message! God uses us despite our sins. The message here is clear as day, “God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.” Excellent message BUT… as I read this post, time and time again I wanted to correct it. Mary Magdalene was not a hooker. Rabah was a prostitute. The Bible states this fact about Rabah (Joshua 2:1). However, it never says that about Mary Magdalene. The Bible says that Mary Magdalene was cured of seven demons (Luke 8:2). That’s all we are told about her past. After that, she is a faithful follower and supporter of Jesus.
I wanted so badly to write this as a comment on the post EVERY TIME I saw it. But every time I began to post I was stopped…every time… (and I saw this post at least 10 times in less than a week). My rant on Mary Magdalene would miss the mark, because it was not the point. The point here is not which sin the person struggled with, but that they struggled with sin. AND God used them anyway. God used them for HIS glory not their own glory. There is no sin that is too big for God.
Somewhere along the lines Mary Magdalene was lumped together with another unnamed women in the Bible (Luke 7), and her image was distorted… but would sharing this information on this social media post actually help anyone grow closer to God?
I had to stop and ask myself, “Is this for God’s glory or my glory?” Making a comment about how an awesome message has a biblical error was only going to show off my biblical knowledge not help anyone grow. The people who needed to hear that message were not focused on Mary Magdalene being a hooker. They were focused on the fact that God used those biblical characters despite their struggle with sin. And she was human, so she did struggle with sin. Just probably not the sin that was listed on this post.
So, I chose not to call out the incorrect part of this message. Not because I do not want people to know what the Bible says, but because in that moment my motive was not to bring God glory. Everything we do should be to bring glory to God. There is a time and place for biblical discussion. I do not believe that was the time or place for that discussion. I fully believe the people who were impacted by this post needed to hear the message that God qualifies the called despite their sins. They did not need an unwanted Bible lesson. The last thing I want to do is turn people away from God’s word. I want them to turn to it!
We all struggle with sin. We all fall short. But God uses us. He calls us and qualifies us to do His will. It’s all about Him! I strive to bring glory to God in all my words and actions. And sometimes that means by holding my tongue (or typing fingers). I fall short daily, but I am grateful for the opportunity to grow and learn. Praise God for His grace!
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:17