|
It
is amazing how upside down our thinking can be compared to God’s. I mean
every one of the principles in God’s word is opposite of what we seem to
do. Just a quick scan of the Beatitudes from Matthew 5- principles to
help us get on top of our hurts, habits and hang ups- every one of them
is downright opposite of what we would normally do. No wonder we often
are heading for the ground instead of the sky!
Let me share some of the most important things you and I can ever
learn and hang on to; three ways to keep your thinking right side up:
#1-
A strong growing believer understands that a judgmental attitude is a
weakness- not a strength… Accept Christians who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about
what they think is right or wrong. 2 For instance, one person
believes it is all right to eat anything. But another believer who has a
sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. 3 Those who
think it is all right to eat anything must not look down on those who
won’t. And those who won’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who
do, for God has accepted them. Romans 14:1
Question: do you think God is only talking about what people eat here?
Or is He talking about all sorts of things that we have a firm
conviction about- and other people see it a different way? The answer is
B. all sorts of things. How do I know? Look how He starts;
don’t argue with them about what
they think is right or wrong.
Simple enough... Hardly a week goes by that I don’t have a discussion
about this. Everyone struggles with judgmental attitudes...
That’s ok. Harboring them. Justifying them. Ignoring them… That’s gonna
cause a serious obstruction in your strength and growth as a believer.
After all, who’s roll are you taking on when you sit in the judgment
seat?
#2-
The strong growing believer does not argue with other believers…
(in his head or with his mouth) …in
God’s name… stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and
they can ruin those who hear them. 2 Timothy 2:14
Fighting over words is what most arguments turn into. Not fighting over
the issue… Fighting over the words that the other person used and then
the other person fights over those words. That’s called “escalation”!
You ever get in a fight with someone and when it’s over you can’t
remember what it was about? That’s because you ended up fighting over
words… Arguing is an internal attitude- at its root, arguing is a
lack of personal peace and self worth… God’s council? Don’t do it!
Just don’t argue- most of the time you just need to shut up and let
someone else be right. What are you trying to prove anyway? But you say,
Lyn I was trying to show them what’s right… I was taking God’s side… I
was showing them what the Bible says… Hummm; well as long as we’re
talking about the Bible, let’s go with what it says about that: …avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels
about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. Titus 3:9
Controversies are arguments that cannot be won. Genealogies has to do
with claiming authority or claiming to know more than others because of
a religious upbringing. And what law is He talking about? Whatever part
of the Bible you use as law is the law He’s talking about. Could be the
10 commandments, could be the sermon on the mount- if you are using as
law- that’s what it is… Yeah, I know. You and I have the same judgmental
attitudes toward people as we had BC- but now… Now we can give it a
righteous label. Wonderful! How convenient! But look at the result; not
only is this stuff:
unprofitable and useless… (Titus 3:9)
but
also this stuff can ruin
those who hear them… (2 Timothy 2:14).
The
strong growing believer does not argue with other believers…
#3-
The strong growing believer must be first and foremost concerned with
his or her own relationship with God…
See
that word “personally”? What does that mean to you? Can you picture that
moment? Later in the same chapter He says it this way,
each of us will have to give a
personal account to God. So don’t condemn each other anymore. Romans 14:12-13
Do you notice the contrast in each of these verses? God, in His word,
seems to consistently make a contrast between your personal relationship
with Him and your judgment of others. Why? Because more than anything
else that seems to be what gets in the way… Nothing turns thinking
upside down more than looking at what others ought to be doing or not
doing. When you get “concerned” about someone else’s relationship with
God it’s impossible to focus on yours. Think about it; in order to put
your eyes on someone else you have to take them off of you and off of
Christ (Hebrews 12:2). The strong growing believer must first and
foremost be concerned with
his or her own relationship with God… |