Unintended Obstacles

Obstacles do not have to be intentional to be real. Paul would never dream of putting an intentional obstacle in someone’s way. But, he also was very careful not to put unintentional obstacles up. Even those things that are not intentional can be harmful.

Our former Secretary of State did not mean to harm anybody by putting State Department emails on her personal server, but she later found out that there was potentially great harm if these emails were “hacked” before they were “wiped.” This unintentional obstacle did great harm to her candidacy and her reputation. There was also harm done to her supporters. Paul would have told her: "Think your decisions through and ask yourself if they could put obstacles in your path or in the paths of others."

And what about President Trump when he was running against Hillary Clinton? I wonder if he thought his decisions through. His harsh tone on immigration and his decision to so viciously malign his political competitors became obstacles. His comments about the leaders of terrorist organizations and his statements on immigrants were used against him in the general election and even proved to be obstacles in his presidency.

As Christians, we need to think our decisions through to the end. What may seem harmless at first could prove to be an obstacle. This is especially important to leaders. Some people are looking for ways to discredit Christians and when they can find fault with church leaders, they are especially gleeful.

Let us be faithful servants of God – avoiding even the unintended obstacles!