The gatekeeper is a person whose priority is to keep out anything that may be dangerous or harmful to those he or she cares about. The gatekeeper is constantly watching for any strange behavior that could be perceived as a threat. She is looking for signs of insincerity, impure motives, and reasons to doubt what the other person is saying true. He behaves like a detective, looking at what the guest is holding in his hand, what he is looking at, and why he is looking at it. If there is even the slightest reason not to trust this person, you could be sure the gatekeeper will find it. He will keep the bad out and make sure no harm comes to him or those he cares about. She will search over and over again, paying attention to little clues such as tone of voice, hand gestures, and facial expressions. He will do this repeatedly over and over again. They are the gatekeepers and they will protect, keep out, and guard at all costs.
Unfortunately, the process of being scanned, analyzed, criticized, judged, evaluated, and observed is a daunting task for the visitor. Even the most sincere, genuine person can start to feel uncomfortable and what wonder is wrong. They can start to feel unsafe themselves because they feel like they are being watched by the CIA or the KGB. They wonder what is wrong when all they have done was walk into the room and said “Hello.” In some cases the visitor may have sincerely wanted to help, but instead they get judged and kept a distance. The guest begins to act strange because they start to feel uncomfortable after having been watched and analyzed so much. At this point an interesting things happens, the gatekeeper has in fact affected the visitor in such a way that he has produced the very behavior in the other person that he was looking for.
The gatekeeper was looking for strange behaviors, reasons to doubt the person which in turn produces strange behavior. This causes the gatekeeper to think she was right in her assumptions that the person was not trustworthy. In some cases the person may not be trustworthy, but in most cases the person was a kind person who meant no harm whatsoever. A sincere, genuine person who only meant to help ends up leaving feeling rejected, frustrated, and/or disappointed.
The gatekeeper is good at keeping not only the bad out, but also the good. The gatekeeper therefore ends up being a person who is often alone and with few friends because he pushes everyone away. She has sincere intentions to keep the dangerous people away, even those who present no danger at all. The gatekeeper plays the role of God, deciding if someone is good enough or not. The gatekeeper does not do what he does out of love but in fact out of fear. The gatekeepers are one of the biggest problems in churches and organizations because they close out themselves and the groups they belong to from things that would be of great value and help. The gatekeeper thinks she is helping herself and those she cares about but in fact the opposite is true.
Healing, transformation, and breakthrough usually require a change of thoughts and actions. When Jesus Christ came to earth, he said and did things that people had never seen before. The gatekeepers of his day scanned, analyzed, criticized, and judged him and as a result they were not able to receive anything from Him. They remained just as miserable, broken, and lost as they were before he came because they would not accept Him as He is. In the end it was the gatekeepers who delivered Jesus to be crucified.
The good news is that it is not the gatekeepers of this world who of have the greatest power. The Bible tells us that greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world (I John 4:4).
Friend, I ask you to search your heart and see is there any possibility you have been a gatekeeper, keeping out both the bad and the good? Or perhaps are you in such a situation that you have been the recipient of the rejection of the holier-than-thou gatekeepers? In either case, go to God and talk to Him. Ask God to forgive you and/or those who have rejected you.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
Romans 2:1 (NKJV)
Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.
Romans 14:4 (NKJV)
Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
Luke 6:42 (NIVUK)
How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,” when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Jude 1:22 (The Message Bible)
Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith. Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin. The sin itself stinks to high heaven.
Matthew 5:43-48 (NKJV)
You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?
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