Hello beautiful ladies!
I apologize for the long awaited post. Life has gotten to be very busy here, and I admit I felt pretty discouraged about keeping up with this blog. But I've come to terms with things and I'm ready to be back online with the fan base I have and that of which I look forward to creating.
As the end of the school year quickly approaches, it seems as though many of my friends are finding themselves in disagreements and arguments. Many people I look up to and admire are stooping so low as to make hurtful comments or pass defaming judgments. As I listened to one of my friends complain about the actions of another, something along the lines of, "How could they say that about another person?" escaped their lips. I couldn't help but think about that phrase a bit.
The first thing I thought about was the fact my friend came to complain to me. Whatever the other person said may have been cruel, it may have been hurtful, but what does complaining about it do? Frankly, it's just as bad as what that person originally did. At the point that we start to complain, sometimes repeatedly to several different people, it becomes gossip. We have started to do the very same thing they did originally. Okay, maybe I'm not complaining because of something they said, maybe it was something they did. But does that make it better? Absolutely not. We can't admonish our brothers and sisters if our words are tearing them down. Matthew 5:21-22 says, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ (translated as "good for nothing") shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire." I don't think that Jesus literally means that these words and phrases will send us to Hell, but I believe He is referring to our attitudes towards one another. Have we not all made mistakes? I have said hurtful things. I have done things that directly contradicted the words that have come out of my mouth. Did I apologize for them? I did. Every time. But did they still talk about me because of it? Yes, every time. I didn't stop apologizing but in many people's eyes, I will always be that hurtful person because only one or two people won't accept my apology. As Christians, as God's children, we can not be those people. We have received forgiveness, we need to share it.
I also noticed that in every complaint, the focus was on the person who was wronged. Which is completely understandable, but sometimes wrongfully alienates the person who has done wrong. As a child of God, I need to be looking out for my brothers and sisters in Christ. As much as it hurts, I need to talk to my siblings and see if there's a reason they've said or done this thing. Are they feeling alone, is there something going on at home? We won't know for sure if we cut them out of our circle of friends. We have to be willing to talk with them and pray for them. We are all people, we all have bad days and need to lean on others. That doesn't change- when we mess up, it becomes more prevalent. We need to remind them why it was wrong, how they have messed up, and who really loves them. Colossians 3:12-13 says, "Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do." That is not to say we shy away from correcting each other when we do wrong, but we need to do so in a way that builds each other up. It is so hard to forgive someone who has wronged us personally. But that's why we need humility, meekness and longsuffering; none of which come easily or naturally to us. However "as the elect of God," we need to "put on" these traits. We need to learn to use them and be conscious of doing so.
Ladies, nothing tears the church apart more than the people it is made of. We have to work together and learn to solve conflict. We will be judged by our own standards (Matthew 7:1-2). Let us all work together to be understanding and build each other up so that we may be understood and built up.
Thank you, friends, for reading and continually supporting me. I would love to read comments! Share with your friends.
With the love of the Lord,
Kat
"And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth.." 2 Timothy 2:24-25
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