Meal of Shame and Humility

Hello, my name is Ben Mathes and I just love to eat! Seriously, that statement is true! Every meal to me is a celebration so when the seven pastors we were supposed to meet in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam were 45 minutes late, I began getting quite huffy.

Finally, one of the pastors came in the door and she said, “Let me explain.” I was quite hungry and a tad bit upset at that point, but I decided to at least let her provide an explanation. She continued, “We all woke up this morning and in all of our different homes we had police in our front yards.” She definitely had my attention.

The pastor said, “My husband and I decided that I would come out the back door and he would go out the front. He turned to the right on his motorcycle and the police followed him. I escaped by turning to the left and here I am.” To think, I was upset because these pastors were late and I was hungry.

These men and women are illegal evangelical underground pastors in communist Vietnam. They are some of the most courageous people in the world and here I was angry because they were late for a meal. Oh, believe me, I received my meal. It consisted of a main dish of humility with a side order of shame.

How often do we instinctively speak before we have all the facts? Has criticizing and judging others become a habit to you? Read what Luke has to say about this in Luke 6:36-37:

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.’”

Have you eaten a meal of shame or humility lately? If so, you may want to commit to memory these verses. The next time you feel the urge to judge someone, stop a few moments and remember how much the Father has forgiven you and go and do likewise to others.

Category: Forgiveness, Vietnam