Thursday, April 27, 2017

Honor Everyone

I have found myself quite the hypocrite.  I desire to live a life of service.  Even chose a career that would allow me to offer skilled service on a daily basis in order to allow others a better life.  And yet, even on the daily commute, I find myself getting angry with other drivers for their behaviors, calling them idiots and morons among other derogatory terms.  Sometimes even at work, I find myself considering patients and other staff members in such ways.  The holy spirit has used the guilt from those encounters to rebuke my short-sightedness.  What good is it to serve some men - often only when in public spectacle - and spend so much time pridefully deriding others?  How can we live, as Christ would have us, with an incessant scornful attitude?

Don't get me wrong, we can still judge men's actions as foolish.  But we should be quick to offload appropriately the anger that may rise in our hearts due to perceived injustices or otherwise.  First, that bitterness is destructive - physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually.  Easy to see that.  Don't think I need to go into depth explaining that.  Secondly, however, all men and women are creations of God.  They bear his image.  Any attack on them, even be it with words or thoughts, is an attack on God.  While forgiveable through the grace we find in Christ, it is sin nonetheless and should be dealt with in all seriousness/earnestness.  We are all prone to such anger/attacks, but we can certainly take measures to lessen the number or impact of those occasions.

So, in gist, love/honor your fellow man - all men - even those that make you angry.  Deal with that anger appropriately, because there is no allowance for derision or belittling God's fellow creatures.  Give them the dignity that you would want granted to yourself.

Love you guys!

Dad


Matthew 5:21-26English Standard Version (ESV)

Anger

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother[a] will be liable to judgment; whoever insults[b] his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell[c] of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny."