Doves On Distant Oaks

Let it Stand

There is an editing, or proofreading, mark called a stēt, which is of Latin origin. It means “to stand.” Editors use it as a way to say “never mind,” or “let it be.” Usually it’s placed over a change in a manuscript to indicate the editor has had a change of heart and altered their reasoning back to the original.

Such faulty reasoning is all around us. Some of it is good, like the evenhanded discernment of righteousness that God intended to be part of the Law. Most times, however, it is poorly executed by man. We don’t like the nice homes that some families own, she wears too many diamonds, they are putting on airs with the clothes they wear, he takes too many vacations, how can that young man afford a new bass boat on his pay? Our gossipy behavior runs rampant and we decide what others need to be doing far too easily.

The truth is that we have enough difficulty handling our own lives, we certainly don’t need to be trying to control that of others. It’s a lesson we need to learn that's not confined to individuals. It can occur in churches and destroy unity. Both my wife and I have seen churches torn apart by arguments and quarreling.

On one occasion, an interim pastor came to preach at our church in the middle of discord. He sat quietly at a meeting as people wrangled on, until one church member said, “If we don’t do so-and-so, the church will die.” Of all the statements made, he took exception to that. He stood, saying, “If God wants it so, it will be so. If he doesn't, it will not.” We are not the one to decide consequences, that's up to God.

The trials of the world will always be with us: disasters, financial struggles, health problems, broken hearts, and so on. That's because Satan’s influence remains, but one thing we can wrestle with is our faulty reasoning—which begins and ends with ourselves. Certainly we are the hands and feet of God, but we can either choose to go against what the Word of God teaches and set ourselves up as the arbitrators of what is right or wrong, or we can choose to let it go and leave that in the hands of God.

So stēt, let what happens in this world stand. God will separate the good wheat from the copy-cat tares at the time of the harvest. Final judgment rests with God and his final, perfect judgment.

I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.

–1 Corinthians 4:3-4