In this man's case, of course, their eyesight was mended by the
microscope of envy and malice. That is no doubt the case with some of us
too. But whether that be so or no, however unobtrusive and quiet a
Christian person's life may be, there will be some people standing
close by who, if not actually watching for his fall, are at least by no
means indisposed to make the worst of a slip, and to rejoice over an
inconsistency.
We do not need to complain of that. It is perfectly reasonable and
perfectly right. There will always be a tendency to judge men, who by
any means profess that they are living by the highest law, with a
judgment that has very little charity in it. And it is perfectly right
that it should be so. Christian people need to be trained to be
indifferent to men's opinions, but they also need to be reminded that
they are bound, as the Apostle says, to 'provide things honest in the
sight of all men.' It is a reasonable and right requirement that they
should 'have a good report of them that are without.' Be content to be
tried by a high standard, and do not wonder, and do not forget that
there are keen eyes watching your conduct, in your home, in your
relations to your friends, in your business, in your public life, which
would weep no tears, but might gleam with malicious satisfaction, if
they saw inconsistencies in you. Remember it, and shape your lives so
that they may be disappointed.
If a minister falls into any kind of inconsistency or sin, if a
professing Christian makes a bad failure in Manchester, what a talk
there is, and what a pointing of fingers! We sometimes think it is hard;
it is all right. It is just what should be meted out to us. Let us
remember that unslumbering tribunal which sits in judgment upon all our
professions, and is very ready to condemn, and very slow to acquit.