A Lot of Finger Pointing

Growing up my grandmother and mother both told me "don’t point fingers!"  It was hard to understand at an early age just exactly what they were trying to teach me.  And no, I didn’t learn after the first warning!! Many times, my hand was slapped when I continued to point because I didn’t heed the teaching point, no pun intended.

As I grew, I realized pointing a finger toward another was an outward sign of disrespect and in some cases aggression.  A finger "poked" to the chest on the playground was just a way to either silence a classmate or to invoke a physical response.  Regardless of the reason for the "poking", it made both individuals appear less respectful to others.

In our world today there is a lot of finger pointing.  We can open the paper or watch the news broadcast and hear about one country blaming another for violating their coastline or their airspace.  Tensions then escalate and the verbal finger pointing turns to physical finger pointing, and the whole world hopes the finger pointing doesn’t turn into a "finger poking."  We all hold our breath in hopes cooler heads will prevail, whether between the two countries or with the help of a third party.

We seem to have a lot of finger pointing in our nation’s Capitol these days, both verbal and physical.  One side of the aisle points an accusatory finger at the other, and it even occurs between the different branches of our government.  Whether it is to draw attention away from one’s own actions, or to bring attention to another’s actions, the same disrespectful behavior initiates the controversial rhetoric – a finger point!  If my grandmother was alive today, she would be doing a lot of hand slapping!!!

Finger pointing is not new to our times nor our society.  In Chapter 3 of Acts, Peter and John stand before a gathering of people in a place called Solomon’s Colonnade, a place not far from the temple, and a place where Jews and Gentile alike could gather together.  Peter had just healed a man who was born lame. The lame man was a beggar, and expected money but Peter and John had none. Peter told the man to stand up and walk in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, to which the man did.  His leaping and praising caused quite a stir inside the temple. This didn’t set well with the religious establishment of the day.

Peter and John moved from the temple to the Colonnade, where he was able to address Jew and Gentile alike.  Peter begins to speak boldly to everyone, and it appears he places blame for the crucifixion on the Jewish people – but that’s not the case.  Peter calls them "friends" and acknowledges their actions were out of an ignorance of the prophets and Jesus’ own teaching. He called all to come together, repent, and turn to God.

Peter’s message is still very true today.  We need to stop the finger pointing in every aspect of our lives, and find ways to call each other "friend", repent of our disrespectful ways, and let the presence of God guide our actions toward one another and in our worship to Him!