Several nights a week, my husband and I have a personal
pow-wow while lying in bed. We
spend that time discussing things (and people) that have been on our minds and
hearts… things that happened throughout the day, how the kids made us proud,
how the kids drove us to near insanity, things that have upset us, people who
have disappointed us, issues that are bogging our minds (one, in particular, is
a daily struggle for me). It’s
just a time for us, with no one else listening, to share our thoughts with each
other. No, we don’t spend all of our
time bashing folks – though we feel like doing that sometimes. But we encourage each other – help
each other in our walk.
Last night’s discussion ended with “why can’t we all just
get along?”
That would be nice, right?
How many times a day do you think disgusting or hurtful thoughts
about someone? Let’s just be real. We’re all human and we all
have a not-so-nice side. God
didn’t intend for us to “gel” with every single person walking. He made us all different, and let's face it - sometimes we clash. We all have “that person” we just
really can’t stand to be around.
Or “that person” that drives us up the wall. Or “that person” that is just too stinkin’ pretty for their
own good and they make it a point to let everyone know.
But how many times do we let those thoughts affect our
attitudes throughout our daily walk?
How many times do we let our kids hear us make degrading comments or
insults about a person, someone who is supposed to be our brother or sister in
Christ?
1 Corinthians 10:13 says this:
“No temptation has overtaken you
that is not common to man. God is
faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the
temptation he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to
endure it.”
In Isaiah 55:8 the Lord says:
“For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.”
So let’s think about this. He’s already told us that we’re human. There’s no temptation (or evil thought)
that’s uncommon to man. We all
deal with it.
BUT, he said bring
it to me! Don’t harbor ill
feelings; they'll harden your heart. Just bring them to
me. I’ll help you deal. I’ll take your trash and turn it into
treasure.
The Lord doesn’t know
evil. His ways are much higher
than ours.
BUT, he knows how to
squash the enemy (and our bitter attitudes) when necessary.
This is the key…
2 Peter 1:3-8 says this:
"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly
life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and
goodness. Through these he has
given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may
participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world
caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort
to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge,
self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance,
godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection,
love. For if you possess these
qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and
unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."
I don’t know how much more straightforward you can get! He’s laid it all on the line, given us
a way to escape from our troubles, our stress, our worry AND our bad attitudes.
He’s told us exactly what to do
with them and what will happen if we hang on to them.
I may not always be in tip-top shape, but there are two things I
definitely do not want to be: ineffective and unproductive.
I also like the way The Message lays it out, and it actually
sums up the whole point of this post.
“So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been
given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual
understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness,
and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others.”
The New Living Translation calls it “brotherly affection
with love for everyone.”
I know a few folks who test my patience, my character, my
friendliness, and they make it really hard to love generously. But that’s what He has called us to
do. And how will our children
learn to love generously unless they see us doing it?
So next time those thoughts meander their way into your
brain, instead of building on the hurt, the ugliness, the bitterness… take it
to Him. Let him turn your thoughts
into ones of basic faith and generous love.