But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. (Galatians 2:11)

We all like to believe that we would be objective and impartial whenever we might be faced with a situation in which we need to make a judgment. Some such judgments are simpler than others. Black or white. Right or wrong. Clarity is, well, more clear in those scenarios. But then there are other cases.

I would like to believe that if the wife of a church member or elder or one of my friends came to me and reported that her husband is not the man I think he is. That he is a RASN (reviler, abuser, sociopath, narcissist) and has been abusive to her for years…I would like to think that I would respond in an objective, impartial manner. But…

We are all affected by elements that fog up our ability to respond with objectivity and justice. The RASN might be (by virtue of his disguise) someone I have long considered to be my friend, a fellow Christian, a faithful elder in the church. He might have many other relationships with people in my circle – in the church, for instance. Or perhaps he is an apparently faithful member of the church, a generous tither for instance. In other words, the person I “know” is not the person his wife/victim is describing to me. My “default” setting in such a situation is not going to revert to just objectivity. My judgment is going to be clouded by many factors. But, unlike a judge in a criminal case, I cannot just “recuse” myself and hand the matter over to someone else.

We (pastors especially) need to own up to our bias. It hides in our thinking. It is not obvious. We can actually be very, unjust, very biased, and not even know it! We can think we see clearly when in fact our sight is quite clouded by all kinds of factors.

In the verse quoted above, we see that the Apostle Paul did see clearly. Peter was an apostle and I assume a friend of Paul’s. But no matter. By the Holy
Spirit in him, Paul saw Peter’s sin clearly. His response was truthful and just. In the presence of all he called Peter out. And then – don’t miss this – Peter was then enabled to see clearly and repent, as were all the others. We do not want to be the blind leading the blind.

We need to train ourselves. When confronted with these kinds of situations, we need to be disciplined and conduct a bit of self-examining interrogation. What is my relationship with this person the victim is describing? How might my judgment be clouded? What factors could be coloring my ability to be objective? And then we need to exercise courage – do what is right – no matter what the cost.