Ep 59: A Skunk in the Daylily Field

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Well, good morning, I'm Daniel
Dalp and this is for Your Sunday

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Morning Drive, the short podcast
designed to help provide you

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with some motivation, some
drive, and some encouragement on

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your way to worship and to
recenter your mind on those

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spiritual things on hectic
Sunday mornings.

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We are brought to you in
partnership with the Ministry

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League network of podcasts to
check out many of the great

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resources and podcasts that
Ministry League offers.

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You can check out their website,
ministryleague.com or check out

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their app.
I know I don't usually do this,

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but I thought it might be wise
to have a small disclaimer at

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the beginning of this episode.
You know, I've sat on this

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episode for the better part of a
year and I've scrapped it and

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I've rewritten it several times
because I didn't want it to seem

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like I was targeting a specific
person or situation, and I'm

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not.
It's just the way things go when

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you release a weekly show,
you're just likely to coincide

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with some things.
Anyway, as you listen to today's

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episode, I want you to know that
my goal isn't to say that

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constructive criticism is wrong
or that it isn't needed from

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time to time.
Nor is it my intention to say

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that we stay silent if
wrongdoing is taking place.

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It's merely my intention to ask
us to look at our hearts and

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examine if the things that we
nitpick or criticize in others

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is truly for their well-being
and that of the church, or if

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it's tied up in our own opinions
and egos.

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Anyway, as always, I'm thankful
that you're given today's

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episode a listen.
I hope it challenges you.

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It challenged me as I was
recording it.

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And I pray you give give me some
grace in this episode and that

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we give each other grace in the
church and most importantly,

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that we give God the glory.
Let's go ahead and get the show

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on the road.
This is episode 59, a skunk in

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the Daylily field.
Let's go to church.

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Are we there yet?
Within the last couple of years,

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my parents have opened the
Daylily farm and let me tell

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you, when the flowers are all in
bloom, it's a beautiful sight to

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see.
And with all those varieties of

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daylily growing in rows
alongside lavender and hibiscus

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and other plants, how could it
not?

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It's always interesting to see
how even though there are

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hundreds of types of flowers all
planted in the same field, they

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all bloom at more or less the
same time, growing together to

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make something beautiful.
Well, early last season, my mom

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texted me a picture of a skunk
amidst all of these flowers.

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And you know, I couldn't help
but think of the church.

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Because the Lord's church is
beautiful.

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It's made-up of broken,
imperfect people of so many

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different varieties,
backgrounds, colors, all kinds

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of diversity, all growing
together after the pattern of

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our perfect Savior, all of us
growing in the light of the Son

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of God.
But doesn't it just seem

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inevitable that someone causes a
stink?

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A skunk shows up.
Now let's be clear, the skunk

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isn't always an individual.
Oh, it can be.

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And maybe it's someone promoting
false teaching.

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Maybe it's someone spreading
lies or or leveling false

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accusations, or delighting in
rumor and gossip, tearing down

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those that are about the work of
the church while they themselves

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contribute little to nothing.
Or maybe it's just someone that

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delights in undue or frivolous
criticism.

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Or it can be an ongoing
struggle, something more

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conceptual.
The loss of a beloved elder or

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preacher may be a natural
disaster that leaves our

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community hurting.
Infidelity, hypocrisy, poor

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leadership.
There are all kinds of potential

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skunks, and sometimes we just
can't stop them from causing a

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stink among the good work of the
church.

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Let me clarify.
I'm talking about causing strife

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or strife's sake or brought
about by sinful motives.

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But then we have to ask
ourselves, what is our

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responsibility when it comes to
skunks?

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Well, of course we love them.
Maybe we have to hold our nose

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and grit our teeth to do so, but
we love them.

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But we also protect the flock,
and I think above all, our

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greatest responsibility to
skunks is to not be 1.

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And how do we do that?
Well, a lot of it comes, I

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think, through maturity.
Don't be upset and cause a

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stink.
Don't cause strife just because

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a decision was made that we
don't agree with, because money

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wasn't being spent the way that
we thought it should be, or

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because an idea was promoted
that wasn't our own.

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As long as good stewardship and
godly decisions are made, then

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let me pose you a few questions.
Does it matter?

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Is it possible that we aren't
the wisest people in the room?

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Or is it possible that others
have valuable input, maybe even

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better input than we could
often?

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Romans chapter 12, verse 9
through 18 give some really good

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insight into the cure to causing
a stink and it's love.

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Let love be without hypocrisy.
Abhor what is evil and cling to

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that which is good.
Be devoted to one another in

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brotherly love.
Give preference to one another

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in honor, not lagging in
diligence, fervor, and spirit.

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Serving the Lord, rejoicing in
hope, persevering in

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tribulation, devoted to prayer,
contributing to the needs of the

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Saints, and practicing
hospitality.

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Bless those who persecute you.
Bless and do not curse.

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Rejoice with those who rejoice
and weep with those who weep.

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Be of the same mind towards one
another.

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Do not be haughty in mind, but
associate with the lowly.

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Do not be wise in your own
estimation, and never pay back

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evil for evil to anyone.
Respect what is right in the

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sight of all men, and if
possible, so far as it depends

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on you, be at peace with all
men.

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You know the Church that Christ
died for is beautiful, but when

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a skunk comes along, be patient,
be steadfast, and be loving

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because we often don't know what
they might be going through.

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But also keep in mind that even
though it can be tempting, don't

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cause a stink where instead we
should smell like Christ.

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Second Corinthians chapter 2,
verse 15 For we are a fragrance

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of Christ to God among those who
are being saved and among those

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who are perishing.
And above all else, isn't unity

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the goal?
Well, those are my thoughts for

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your Sunday morning drive.
Now it's time to hear yours and

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don't forget you can always
share your comments and thoughts

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on for your Sunday morning
dr.com.

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Our discussion questions for
today are have we been guilty of

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being skunks?
Do we ever cause unnecessary

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strife?
How are we encouraging those who

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are about the work of the church
and are we about that work

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ourselves?
Are we removing the plank before

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focusing on the splinter?
And when is criticism

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appropriate?
And what does the Bible say

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about how to take action upon
it?