Exodus 32:1-14
Numbers 14:1-21

“America's present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration.” -- Warren G. Harding

We must love Donald Trump. Having seen his former hit reality show, “The Apprentice,” we all want to shout the words, “You’re fired!” to whomever falls short of our standards.

Public affairs bear this out. Each week, public officials hear calls for their own firing or resignations. Infractions such as insensitive or offensive comments may trigger the chorus of calls. Missteps in the execution of job performance, large or small, could set them singing. Association with someone who has questionable character or has done something dubious could instigate the demands.

Secretary Generals. Senators. Cabinet Officials. Talk radio hosts. Actors on primetime television dramas. Presidents. Professors. College presidents. Military generals. District attorneys. CEOs. Teachers. Coaches. Pastors. We have called for firings of such people in increasing numbers over the last few years.

The message is clear: toe the line or we’ll demand your head. The slightest misstep serves as grounds for expulsion.

“You’re fired!” we hope to yell. Since most of us don’t sit in such a seat of authority, we issue petitions, we call representatives, we write letters to editors, or we call press conferences, if we have the clout.

Despite our the illusion of our inflated expectations of perfection, failure will come. It will come in my job and my private life. It will come in yours, and it will come in everyone’s. Its arrival is inevitable because fallibility is a trait of the human condition. While the reality of pending mistakes is certain, our reactions are not; we can choose how we respond to error in others and ourselves.

Look at Moses. He pleaded for those who made mistakes. He went before God to defend them. And Jesus pleads for us now (Hebrews 7). He also showed us something about throwing stones in John 8. Standing before the social and religious elite intent on stoning an adulterous woman, Jesus asked,  “You’re going to stone this woman for her infraction? What of your own?”

Look at Jesus again. Might we not learn from him, who in Matthew 18:15-17, taught us how to deal with those in error? Could we alone approach the party in error to correct a problem? What about going in private with a small group of trusted friends? Certainly some would respond more favorably to this approach than a public call for dismissal.

The next time we have a problem with someone’s conduct or execution of an assignment, let’s try Jesus’ way. His remarkable record on dealing with failed performance and failed people contrasts starkly with our own.

Why might approaching alone achieve more than a public call for firing or resignation?
Why do you think Jesus instructed us to act so?
Why are we so quick to want to fire others, or see them removed from their position?