PATIENCE AND LOVINGKINDNESS
Have you ever felt impatient with a Christian friend who doesn’t seem to grow spiritually?
Perhaps you have been waiting years for the person to change certain attitudes that seem to be hindering their witness for the Lord. If the person leads a godly life in most respects, you may hesitate to say anything to them, for it is basically up to the Holy Spirit to convict them of their wrong attitude. God may lead you to offer spiritual counsel in a loving way, but if your friend doesn’t respond, the only alternative is to pray that God will show them what is clogging their relationship with Christ.
We need to pray for our friends who seem unaware that they are doing something that grieves God. But unless we have a very close relationship with them, it is rarely our duty to correct them. God will awaken their conscience and call them to repentance when the time is right.
We need to beware of priding ourselves on our biblical knowledge and trying to control the people around us. It is sometimes difficult to keep silent, but it is usually the right thing to do.
Hear God’s warning through the prophet Jeremiah.
"Thus says the Lord, ‘Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,’ declares the Lord." Jeremiah 9:23-24 (New American Standard Bible version)
Note that God puts his lovingkindness ahead of His justice and righteousness. God will not do anything which is unjust or unholy, but He does deal with us in patience and kindness before He comes down upon us in judgment. I am grateful for God’s patience with me, so I should allow God to deal patiently and lovingly with others.
We need to show more patience and kindness to the ones around us, especially to those who are in the same Family of Jesus. God sees our friend’s true heart, and perhaps He is dealing with some other problem in their life right now. Eventually He will teach them what they need to know.
In the meantime, we should always take a stand for truth and holiness. But beware of becoming judgmental and critical of others. If we look carefully into our own heart, we will probably see several areas in which we ourselves need to improve. We are responsible for our own attitude, not for what others are doing. God will use us as examples to help others if we are humble and careful to obey Him, if we daily repent and confess our own sins. God cannot use a Christian who is proud and self-righteous. We can fall into that bad attitude easily without realizing it.
So make it your aim to have a humble heart sensitive to the probing of the Holy Spirit, quick to repent and confess your sins, but always show patience and lovingkindess to others who seem to be lagging behind.
Rosemary Watson
rawatson31@cox.net
Have you ever felt impatient with a Christian friend who doesn’t seem to grow spiritually?
Perhaps you have been waiting years for the person to change certain attitudes that seem to be hindering their witness for the Lord. If the person leads a godly life in most respects, you may hesitate to say anything to them, for it is basically up to the Holy Spirit to convict them of their wrong attitude. God may lead you to offer spiritual counsel in a loving way, but if your friend doesn’t respond, the only alternative is to pray that God will show them what is clogging their relationship with Christ.
We need to pray for our friends who seem unaware that they are doing something that grieves God. But unless we have a very close relationship with them, it is rarely our duty to correct them. God will awaken their conscience and call them to repentance when the time is right.
We need to beware of priding ourselves on our biblical knowledge and trying to control the people around us. It is sometimes difficult to keep silent, but it is usually the right thing to do.
Hear God’s warning through the prophet Jeremiah.
"Thus says the Lord, ‘Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,’ declares the Lord." Jeremiah 9:23-24 (New American Standard Bible version)
Note that God puts his lovingkindness ahead of His justice and righteousness. God will not do anything which is unjust or unholy, but He does deal with us in patience and kindness before He comes down upon us in judgment. I am grateful for God’s patience with me, so I should allow God to deal patiently and lovingly with others.
We need to show more patience and kindness to the ones around us, especially to those who are in the same Family of Jesus. God sees our friend’s true heart, and perhaps He is dealing with some other problem in their life right now. Eventually He will teach them what they need to know.
In the meantime, we should always take a stand for truth and holiness. But beware of becoming judgmental and critical of others. If we look carefully into our own heart, we will probably see several areas in which we ourselves need to improve. We are responsible for our own attitude, not for what others are doing. God will use us as examples to help others if we are humble and careful to obey Him, if we daily repent and confess our own sins. God cannot use a Christian who is proud and self-righteous. We can fall into that bad attitude easily without realizing it.
So make it your aim to have a humble heart sensitive to the probing of the Holy Spirit, quick to repent and confess your sins, but always show patience and lovingkindess to others who seem to be lagging behind.
Rosemary Watson
rawatson31@cox.net
posted by Rosemary @ 1:09 PM
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