Sharpen your perception because, “The wise of heart is called perceptive, and pleasant speech increases persuasiveness” (Proverbs 16:21)
Be gentle and…
show courtesy to all people (Titus 3:2)
Do all the good you’re able do to for somebody else (Gal. 6:10)
Pick up stuff for other people spiritually and physically— if you’ve got a strong back. Bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2)
Be golden. As you wish that others would do to you, do so to them (Luke 6:31)
Understand what makes your own mind turn. Discern your own thoughts, identify your intentions (Heb. 4:12)
Talk to others like you would talk Jesus. How would you interact with Him? (Matthew 25:40)
Grace is like the Savior’s All-Spice seasoning; use it on every relationship (Col. 4:5-6)
Don’t underestimate the power of joy. Also, try and use your face to show it so your joyfulness isn’t your best kept secret. Praise God and be joyful as it attracts both the people that you need and people that need you— a win-win! (Psalm 100:1-5)
If I asked for a show of hands if you had at least one person in your life that you found difficult to love, some of us, if not all of us would have both hands and both feet in the air. There is no doubt that all of us have people in our lives that are “difficult to love.” This is a natural part of our lives and even more so as followers of Christ because we have different standard of “loving people” than what you find in the world.
I want to dive a little deeper than what usually talk about when this topic comes up. Usually, when he hear this topic, our minds selfishly start pointing blame at others. We may have thoughts like, “Well if they would just have the same opinion as me, everything would be better”, or “man I wish they would get their life together, they’d be a lot easier to be around.”
However, when we observe Matthew and Mark’s account of what Jesus says to the Pharisees in Matthew 22:36-40 and Mark 12:29-31, we find that when Jesus is asked “Which is the greatest commandment?” He says “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And the second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”.
There is a greater context here, but I find it very interesting that when Jesus is asked this question, even though it’s coming from a Lawyer trying to test Him, of all the commandments, Jesus answers with these two. Obviously Jesus find these to be greatly important. First and foremost, you have to Love God. Second, you have to love your neighbor as yourself.
And if we do a little reverse psychology with the second commandment Jesus mentions here, you gotta love your neighbor. To love your neighbor right, you gotta love your neighbor as yourself. To love your neighbor as yourself, you gotta love yourself.
Webster defines the word difficult as -hard to do, make, or carry out; hard to deal with, hard to manage, overcome, or understand. Loving difficult people is……difficult, but loving yourself is a constant challenge. It’s a lifelong battle. If we were honest with ourselves, our disappointment and or disapproval of others originate with that of ourselves. The first step to loving difficult people. In fact, loving yourself is the first step to loving people in general.
Jesus gave us a reason to love ourselves, not in a selfish, prideful way, but in light of our salvation. Our salvation and hope should shine through in love for others. I believe if we study ourselves on a regular basis, cultivating that love that Jesus has shown us, it will bring forth a spirit of natural love for people, no matter how difficult they may be.
At least in my lifetime, no period has been as uncertain and tense as the current one. We have no idea what will happen in the next few months. We’re not 100% confident that society will be at peace this time next year. Hatred, as defined in the New Testament, is already rearing its ugly head and will likely only grow exponentially in the coming months.
If you’re reading this article, you’re probably a believer. First and foremost, we are not citizens of any country in this world. We have to be peaceful, beneficial citizens in whichever country we live, but we’re non-resident aliens regardless. We’re visiting for one purpose: to show the world how Jesus loves.
John defines hatred and love very clearly in I John 3. Hatred (from μισει, misei) is not always defined as “harboring extreme resentment toward others”. Sometimes we catch ourselves before using the word “hate” to describe how we feel about someone, replacing it with “strongly dislike”. That’s still hatred, at least the way John uses the word. It seems to mean, in the context of I John, something like “not helping someone with their physical needs because of how we feel about them”. It means showing beneficial kindness to the brothers and sisters we like to the neglect of those we don’t.
BDAG uses Deuteronomy 21.15-16 as an example of how this word could be understood. In that passage, a man has two wives. He likes one wife more than the other one, and he has sons with both wives. The oldest son happens to be from the wife he doesn’t like as much. When it’s time to divide his assets among his children, he can’t give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he likes more. Does this mean he “hates” his other wife? No — it just means he doesn’t like her as much as the other one, and he’s tempted to treat his firstborn with less favor because of it.
The first part of I John 3 is all about not sinning and not hating our fellow believers. The second part is about practicing love for each other. The last part is about belonging to the truth and living in God. Sandwiched between these concepts is the definition of love and hatred:
We understand what love is when we realize that Christ gave his life for us. That means we must give our lives for other believers. Now, suppose a person has enough to live on and notices another believer in need. How can God’s love be in that person if he doesn’t bother to help the other believer? Dear children, we must show love through actions that are sincere, not through empty words.
We don’t have to feel “strong dislike” for a believer to be considered hateful. We just have to neglect them because we don’t like them. Here’s the problem with that: Everyone who hates another believer is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life (3.15).
We don’t know what the next few months will do to us. But we cannot mistreat or neglect a fellow believer because of how we feel about them. If we practice love, we have eternal life. If we practice apathy or neglect, we’ll have eternal death. What happens to us in this life is not important. We’re just waiting for Jesus to come back. If we want to leave this earth with him, we can’t let something temporal keep us from showing beneficial kindness to our fellow believers.
One of my favorite songs, “The Greatest Commands,” starts with this imperative. As that song urges us, “Love is of God” (1 John 3:10). Having a divine source and being a command, it ought to really grab our attention. John explains by reinforcing why we should love one another.
IT IS AS OLD AS TIME (1 John 3:11-13). When a Bible writer leaves his own culture and goes back to the beginning, you know the subject is important. Jesus does this with marriage (Mat. 19:3-9). Paul does this with women’s role (1 Tim. 2:8-15). John does this with love. He takes us back to the edge of Eden, using Cain and Abel as examples. He implies that Cain killed Abel because he did not love his brother (12). He also is teaching that love is a work, not simply a feeling (12). He then shows us that Cain’s way is the world’s way (13). John will stress that following the Lord’s way is how we overcome the world (4:4; 5:4), and the Lord’s way is to love one another.
IT IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (1 John 3:14-16). It is a characteristic of the spiritually resurrected; it is how “we know that we have passed out of death into life” (14). We persist in a dead state if we do not love our brother (14). Hatred is the spiritual equivalent of murder (15; Mat. 5:21-26). At the other end of the spectrum, we know love by imitating Jesus and being willing to lay down our lives for the brothers (16). Building that kind of spiritual bond within the body of Christ matters so much to God! He wants us eliminating negative feelings, dissension, grudge-bearing, and animosity. He wants us building a spiritual bond that looks like the heart of Jesus, a heart that caused Him to go to the cross! What a challenge!
IT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FAKE AND GENUINE (1 John 3:17-18). Saying “I love you” is incredibly easy. It is three one-syllable words. But our actions so often betray our claim. Do we literally put our money where our mouth is (17)? If we see our brother in need, whether financially, emotionally, socially, or spiritually, but show callous indifference, we need to go back to verse 10 and start reading again! The simple, powerful admonition is, “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (18). In the context of works, James says, “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (Jas. 2:14-16). Just like faith without works, words without loving action are dead and useless! It makes our “I love you’s” false and dishonest.
IT IS KEY TO OUR CONFIDENCE (1 John 3:19-24). John says, “By this…” (19). By what? By loving in deed and in truth. By loving in deed and in truth, “we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him” (19). Look at all the conditional language in these verses. We should have confidence of our salvation if we love in deed and truth (19-21). We should have confidence that He will bless us and be with us if we keep this commandment to love one another (22-23). We should have confidence that we abide in God and He abides in us, if we keep His commandments (which includes, “love one another”)(24). John is not talking about cockiness or arrogance, but a blessed assurance that comes when we are striving to walk in the light (1:7). But, do not miss this point. Walking in the light necessitates brotherly love. You can’t have one without the other.
How should this change us? Won’t it kill grudges, feuds, avoidance, gossip, resentment, hostility, division, rivalry, suspicion, and the like? It will revolutionize the atmosphere of an entire congregation and the relationship between individual Christians in the congregation. It will draw us closer, into one another’s lives. Most of all, it causes us to imitate, please, and obey the God whose Son showed the greatest love of all (John 15:13)!
Love for other people means taking care of them, even if we don’t like them. We’re also expected to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. How is it possible to show love to God the same way we show love to people? It isn’t possible, because God needs nothing. Everything we have comes from him, so we cannot give him anything he doesn’t already have.
Jesus told a story about two sons. Their father asked them to work in the field — one of them said, “I will,” the other said, “I won’t.” The one who agreed to work never went to the fields, and the one who didn’t want to work eventually worked. Who actually did what their dad asked them to do?
We show love for God by doing what he wants us to do, even if we don’t want to do it. It’s very difficult (often bordering impossible) to love our enemies. But if we love God, we’ll love our enemies. In our current political climate, it’s very tempting to violate the unconstitutional policies that have been shoved down our throats for decades. But if we love God, we’ll follow every law that doesn’t demand sin on our part. If we ever reach a point where our physical safety is threatened because of our faith, we will remain passive if we love God.
Having love for God means doing what he wants us to do. John makes it very clear that we cannot love God and hate other humans at the same time. We cannot love God and neglect our Christian family. The point of love is to prove the goodness of God! If we love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, the natural expression of this is to take care of the people God created! Loving God means emulating his nature — God is love. He proved this by sacrificing his son while we were neck-deep in violating everything he holds sacred. We deserved nothing, and he gave us everything. If we love God, we try to emulate that level of sacrifice for other people.
Jesus told a story about a Jewish man who was attacked while traveling. He was seriously injured and left for dead by the side of the road. Two of his own countrymen — considered spiritual leaders by their people — completely ignored their unconscious brother and went about their day. A Samaritan man — considered inferior by the Jews at that time — helped him. He didn’t say, “I hope everything works out for you.” He rendered medical aid, took him to shelter, and made sure he had everything he needed to recover.
The conclusion of this story was a question: “Which one of these three men do you think was really a neighbor to the man who was hurt by the robbers?” The answer was obvious. Loving your neighbor (i.e. other humans) necessarily means providing for their physical needs. How important is this? “Teacher, what do I have to do to get eternal life?” The Good Samaritan illustration was Jesus’s answer to that question.
“When we have the opportunity to do good to anyone, we should do it. But we should give special attention to those who are in the family of believers” (Gal 6.10).
“My brothers and sisters, if a person claims to have faith but does nothing, that faith is worth nothing. Faith like that cannot save anyone. Suppose a brother or sister in Christ comes to you in need of clothes or something to eat. You say to them, ‘Go peacefully, warm yourself and find some food,’ but you don’t give them the things they need. If you don’t help them, your words are worthless” (Js 3.14-16).
“Suppose a believer who is rich enough to have all the necessities of life sees a fellow believer who is poor and does not have even basic needs. What if the rich believer does not help the poor one? Then it is clear that God’s love is not in that person’s heart. My children, our love should not be only words and talk. No, our love must be real. We must show our love by the things we do” (I Jn 3.17-18).
“The Son of Man will come again with divine greatness, and all his angels will come with him. He will sit as king on his great and glorious throne. All the people of the world will be gathered before him. Then he will separate everyone into two groups. It will be like a shepherd separating his sheep from his goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.Then the king will say to the godly people on his right, ‘Come, my Father has great blessings for you. The kingdom he promised is now yours. It has been prepared for you since the world was made. It is yours because when I was hungry, you gave me food to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I had no place to stay, you welcomed me into your home. When I was without clothes, you gave me something to wear. When I was sick, you cared for me. When I was in prison, you came to visit me’” (Mt 25.31-36).
This is how we know that we’re with him and he’s with us: he gave us his spirit. We were there, we saw firsthand that the father sent his son on a mission to save the world. Whoever agrees that Jesus is actually God’s son is with God, and God is with them. Because we saw him, we came to believe and really understand the kind of selfless love that God has for us. God is love. The one who practices love is with God, and God is with them.
This love is being matured in us for reason: so we can be completely confident on the last day when everyone is judged. If we have selfless love, we’re considered to be as pure as Jesus was when he was on earth. Love leaves no room for being afraid. If we mature our love, that love keeps us from being afraid. If we live in fear of judgment day, it’s because we haven’t matured in our love.
We practice love because he loved us first. If someone says, “I love God,” but still hates their Christian family, they’re a liar. How’re you supposed to love a God you can’t see while failing to love a Christian family you can see? It’s not possible. Remember the commands he gave us: we have to love God and love our Christian family, too.
It’s hard to find a better Scripture to serve as a goal or vision statement than Hebrews 10.24.
“Let’s consider how to provoke one another towards love and good deeds.”
First, notice the verse begins with the key to the beginning of biblical love and good deeds. In a group setting, love and good deeds should be considered together. One person’s dreams and schemes will lack the crucial insight of others.
Second, consideration implies that putting to practice the love and work of God takes some thoughtful planning. In order for our families and church families to experience God’s love, we’ve got to personalize it for them. In order for us to move on from declaring that love to proving it, the action must stem from observational consideration. The proof of love is in a sacrificial point of good deeds.
Third, in order to motivate (provoke or spur) people towards these goals, we must experiment. What gets people excited and moving? What gets your people excited and moving? Since all groups and family units have different needs, the motivation methods should be focused on them. It’s all too easy to formulate a strategy and perfect plan, but we’ll never know of any flaws in that plan until others have had the opportunity to communicate their own thoughts. They have knowledge and insight that one person alone lacks. If after careful consideration and prayerful provoking there still isn’t movement, reexamination might be necessary.
The goal of creating an environment of godly love and work is not a walk in the park, which is why the Hebrew writing records these three steps to success. How much of an impact could we make if we changed, “let’s consider how to spur one another” to “we know what it takes to spur others on.”
“Let love be genuine.” This phrase from Romans 12.9 is familiar and deceptively simple. It sounds good and feels good! But what does it mean?
It means we can’t pretend to love people. Ανυποκριτος means “not pretending” or “acting” something. In other words, don’t pretend to love people with the goal of getting something out of it. Don’t pretend to love people when we don’t.
We don’t usually show our real selves to other people. Aside from our close friends and family, we show other people who we want them to see. There’s nothing wrong with this; all cultures adopt levels of social scripting and behaviors based on how close we are with another person. The church is a family, and it’s hard to remember that sometimes. We’d rather keep people at arm’s length (I’m guilty of this) than get into the messiness of close relationships.
Once we get past the formal, arm’s length level of closeness, things get complicated and messy. But they’re also rewarding and uplifting! Whatever we see in our Christian family, God expects us to love like we mean it. There’s no room for fake in this family! Since our lifestyle can be challenging, we need to know that we can rely on each other.
God showed us genuine love by proving it. He proves it every day by keeping us “good to go” if we’re walking in light (I Jn 1). Showing real love has personal benefits, sure, but it mainly benefits others. We may never know how much showing genuine love impacts another person, but it could be the pivotal point of their relationship with God! How cool is it that, just by being genuine, we potentially change people’s eternity?!
Henry Adams wrote, “One friend in a lifetime is much, two are many, and three are hardly possible.” While I do not share his pessimism or cynicism, I do believe that true, close friends are certainly not prevalent. There are too many factors at play. Friendships take time, trust, and transparency. Some things can be barriers to developing close companionship from contrasting values to clashing viewpoints.
The Bible gives insight into factors essential to building true, lasting friendships. Since God made man, He knows what makes us tick and operate at our optimism levels. Here are four quick principles:
A Friend Loves At All Times (Proverbs 17:17).
Solomon does not suggest blind loyalty or blanket endorsement. Scripture does not encourage fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness (Eph. 5:11), but it also points out that we all struggle with sin problems (Rom. 3:23). We also are prone to weak moments and we go through trials and reverses of fortune. It is a blessing to know we have people we can count on to be there even when we’re not at our best or enjoying our mountaintop moments (Heb. 12:12-13; Rom. 12:15).
For The Despairing Man, There Should Be Kindness From His Friend (Job 6:14).
For every one we exchange superficial greetings with, even as we are carrying our hidden cares, we need true friends to turn to for help when we face deep needs in our hours of trial. Rare is the friend who knows, sympathizes, and is ready to help with a kind word or deed. You can imagine how Job’s friends added to his despair by failing to offer that when he needed it most. So many things bring despair–job loss, family crisis, financial reverse, health issues, and other life changes. It is then that astute acts of kindness make a lasting impact and forge true friendships.
If They Fall, One Will Lift Up His Fellow (Ecc. 4:10).
Solomon does not specify whether the falling is physical, emotional, or spiritual. No matter what makes us fall, it is the trustworthy response of a friend that he focuses on. How tragic not to have someone in our lives with a ready hand when we are sinking! What if we are falling away from God (Jas. 5:19-20)? What if we are losing faith or overwhelmed (Mat. 14:30)? “The Lord sustains all who fall” (Ps. 145:14), and what a blessing when He does so through a faithful friend!
Faithful Are The Wounds Of A Friend (Prov. 27:6).
We need people in our lives who are more than “yes” men and women. True friends care enough to correct if we are going off course. We need those who don’t just rubber stamp our speech, validate our every action, or automatically take our side. None of that helps us refine our character or makes us fit for the Master’s use. It’s not easy to tell someone we like and care about that they’ve fallen short in some way, but having a friend that deep and genuine is a true blessing in life.
These passages challenge me to ask, “What kind of friend am I to others?” Am I deeper than a fellow sport’s fan, a person with common interests, or even a co-member of the church? Can I be counted on to be there in the valleys as well as the mountaintop days? Can I be trusted with kindness on despairing days? Am I a lifter? Do I have the courage even to say the difficult things in difficult moments? I want to be that kind of friend to my friends!
Some of our dearest friends, whom we were blessed to see this past weekend.
I am a lifelong fan of the SEC (Southeastern Conference), as a diehard, if long-suffering, Georgia Bulldog. In fact, I was born in Oxford, Mississippi, home to the Ole Miss Rebels football team that took on and beat the Indiana Hoosiers on January 2 at the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida. But, I could not help but love the charisma and philosophy of Indiana’s head football coach, Tom Allen. They had a remarkable season, giving Ohio State all it could handle in the Big Ten Championship game. They are up-and-comers. They are over-comers. A big reason why is Allen’s motto. It has helped them deal with internal tragedy and loss. It has brought them together in a year that tore so many people apart, politically, racially, and philosophically. The motto is simply “L-E-O”: Love Each Other. He preaches to his players to live for something larger than themselves. He explained, “…You have to live your life with core values and core principles. There are anchors in your life. This is what we talk about all the time, that when these storms come — not if they come, when they come — you have a rock-solid foundation that cannot be shaken” (Jon Blau, Bloomington, IN, Star-Times, 1/3/21). He sees his opportunity as head coach as about much more than wins and losses, but about shaping young men at a crucial time in their lives. And what they need to succeed, he’s convinced, is “brotherly love.”
As fantastic as that, promoted by a man of faith like Allen, he’s simply echoing the motto Jesus already gave His disciples 2,000 years ago. John records Jesus’ admonition to His followers, when He said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). OK, technically, that’s L-O-A, but, when we remind each other, it’s L-E-O. More than a motto, it is our identifying mark. Jesus knew the power of selfless, sacrificial love. Love, defined as “the quality of warm regard for and interest in another” (BDAG, 6), helps us through the storms of life. It gives us something bigger than ourselves to lean on.
New Testament writers tell us what L-O-A will do:
It causes us to serve one another (Gal. 5:13)
It roots and grounds us (Eph. 3:17)
It helps us show tolerance for one another (Eph. 4:2)
It makes us spiritual laborers (1 Th. 1:3)
It leads us to highly esteem one another (1 Th. 5:13)
It shows us as proper examples of a believer in Christ (1 Tim. 4:12)
It will cover a multitude of sins (1 Pet. 4:8)
Of course, the list is much longer than that, but think about the impact we can make on the world, especially right now, if we will work to master such a motto in the body of God’s Son. Love each other! Don’t divide into camps, suspect, prejudge, accuse, isolate from, and indict each other. That’s the world’s modus operandi (M.O.). We do that, and we have nothing to offer them that they do not already have. Offer them love, and you help fill a crucial void. God’s nature is love (1 John 4:8). It’s to be our nature, too! Let’s love each other. A desperate world is waiting.
Do you want to be happy? In answering this question, many in the church will tell you to “fulfill your purpose.” While this is true, serving God and proclaim Him to others will bring happiness, there’s a very important foundation that is a driving point for our Christianity.
While it is true that we have been given the opportunity to tell others about the gospel, and we no longer have to worry about what we should be doing with our lives, what happens if we try to fulfill this command without love?
True happiness is built on the foundation of loving God. Now before you start thinking that this is one of those “easier said than done” articles, notice a few verses with me. Just saying that we love God won’t bring happiness. We must have a true sacrificial love for Him. To help us make this goal more attainable we must ask ourselves, “Why do I love God?”
I Love God because…
He deserves to be loved. Think of all the ways He has blessed us. Forgiveness, Heaven, and every earthly blessing we have. God deserves to be loved by His creation, but even more than that,,,
He commanded us to love Him. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5).
Loving God isn’t a suggestion. If we claim to be His children, we must love Him the way He has told us to love Him. This means we love Him with all our:
Heart (center of emotion). It is not only an external action, but an internal affection that influences all our actions. He wants a heart so filled with love that it is shown in secret as well as in public.
Soul. The immortal part of our being is thoroughly filled with a love for God. It’s deeper than the physical.
Might. Our thoughts, speech and actions should all be influenced by a love for God.
Loving God means we love others. In Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:5. “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Not only do we love God with every aspect of our being, but we love those created in His image. Jesus goes on to say that all of the law and the prophets hangs on these two commands.
We serve God because we love Him. We fulfill our purpose because every part of our being is consumed with a love for God. Do you want to be happy? Love God, love His creation. Build a foundation of love and your faith and service to God will have no limits
One night Chelsea and I were walking the dog before bed and came across an enormous armadillo. We were in a rural area and it was pitch black outside except for her flashlight. I had a rifle with me, so I took a shot at the armadillo. Instead of falling where it stood (as they had usually done), this one jumped a couple feet into the air and then ran off with surprising speed.
We thought that was the end of it, so she walked the opposite direction with the flashlight and the dog. In the pitch black, I heard the angry armadillo heading towards me full-steam.
Being rushed by an armadillo in the dark is terrifying, no two ways around that. The darkness accentuates our helplessness and makes defense a lot harder. I John 2.11 makes it very clear that if we hate our church family, we’re walking in darkness and don’t know where we’re going because the darkness has blinded us. If we’re in darkness, we have no fellowship with Jesus and we’re liars (1.6).
2020 has given our mortal sides quite a bit of strain. We’re so divided as a nation that a person’s political party alone is enough to preclude their value in the eyes of their opposition. The church has to be different.
Had the moon not come out just a little and the laser on my optic not worked, I would have been cut up pretty good by that armadillo. Light gave me the means to save my skin!
If we show love to our church family and are walking in the light, we have been given the ability to be saved. If we live and die in the light, we gain an eternity where there is no night or darkness in a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21 ). As November 3rd looms ominously over us, let’s remember that our eternal destination hangs – at least partially – on how we treat one another after this stressful election.
Sometimes our television plays to an “empty room.” People are present; they just are not paying attention. I suppose you could say the television just serves to offer “background noise” on those occasions. Today, an action-type show played on a broadcast network. A childhood favorite was playing. Though I might be accused of “hassling the Hoff,” I noted, as an adult, the show I enjoyed as a child was replete with terrible acting from the show’s star and the supporting cast. The only character that retained an air of sophistication was the car voiced by William Daniels. Even with KITT, though, it wasn’t that “he” had great lines, but a great accent.
I couldn’t help but think of Paul’s words to the brethren of Corinth.
“When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.” (1 Corinthians 13.11 NASB)
I will explain this verse in its context before I make application of it. In the immediate context of Paul’s discourse on spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul was comparing their reliance on spiritual gifts such as tongue-speaking to being like a child. Love was the more excellent way (1 Corinthians 12.31ff). The spiritual gifts would pass away. Love would be what would guide the church after the miraculous age had passed. Rather than quibble over who had the best spiritual gift, they needed to grow up and be motivated by love.
Within the context of the epistle, though, Paul’s words in our text serves as a reminder to Christians that a failure to mature as we should, signifies a childish mind (1 Corinthians 14.20). Only in one’s desire to sin is such a childish disposition a positive, since it’s childlike innocence which epitomizes the ideal child of God (Matthew 18.3). Thus, we are innocent like children, but stay like adults in our thinking.
This brings me back to Knight Rider. Why did the show make me cringe? I know some might accuse me of being quite capable of immaturity. Nevertheless, I am an adult now. I see things like plot holes. I can tell I am watching D-list actors. And the entire premise strains credulity. In the episode airing, Michael and KITT had gone to a South American country whose American advisor was imperiled by a coup begun during a volcanic eruption. They were responsible for safely extracting this advisor. Naturally, they accomplished their task with little difficulty within the hour.
Now, let us bring it on home where it counts. How many Christians are easily swayed by the smooth words of a false teacher because he plays on those things appealing to an immature mind? How many base their convictions on how they feel instead of a “thus saith the Lord?” The Hebrews writer admonished his recipients to stop being milk-drinkers so that can tear into the solid food found in God’s Word (Hebrews 5.12-14). That takes spending time in prayer and Bible study.
In closing, I remind you of what God said to Job when He finally granted the latter the audience he had requested: “Now gird up your loins like a man…” (Job 38.3; 40.7). May we heed those words also and make those needed adjustments to become the Christian men and women God would have us be.
Some time ago, I wrote, “I passed by a skunk and a snake, fighting tooth and nail. I didn’t stop and pet either or take sides. I got out of there as fast as I could.” That was metaphorical rather than actual, though I’ve had encounters with each animal individually. My point had to do with some of the “fights” that regularly occur on social media about some of the most unnecessary causes.
The common ground of these posts and articles are their extremely polarizing effect, drawing a multitude of allies and opponents. So often, they relate to matters that, of themselves, will not effect a single person’s eternity (though the poor stewardship of time, emphasis, tone, and attitude might imperil more than a few).
I have been tempted to weigh in on probably a thousand of these spats and civil wars, but I do not. It’s not that I do not have decided views on nearly all the debates. Instead, I try to project myself into the future. Will it expand my influence for Christ for good? What will my comment add to the spirit of brotherly love, magnanimity, unity, and church growth? Will I truly be helping struggling souls? Will it elevate the view of Jesus’ bride in the eyes of the lost, the weak, and the wayward?
After reflecting, the answer is always the same. I cannot answer that for my interjecting brethren. Nor am I one to avoid preaching or personally discussing matters because they may be unpopular or alienating. However, because social media is more impersonal and lacking in the interpersonal dynamics of face-to-face interaction, we run a much greater risk of being misunderstood.
Today, controversy can be created in real time. As a good friend of mine put it, “Everybody has a megaphone now.” What really requires courage is stepping out from behind a computer or phone and personally interacting with someone we disagree with in civil, loving discourse. It may not foster page views, mass reactions, and reams of online comments, but in the end it may reach more hearts and minds.
In our current culture, dividing people into camps against each other is incredibly easy. But is it wise? Is it right (Proverbs 6:19b)?
Steven Covey has said, “Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be.” There is great wisdom and truth in that. Encouragement requires unselfishness and thoughtfulness. It requires our looking at the other person and empathizing with their circumstances. It requires a genuine love, care, and concern. The interesting thing is that it does not have to cost anything, take much time, or demand a lot of energy. But, oh the benefit it gives to one who greatly needs it!
Such vital people as Joshua (1:38), David (1 Sam. 23:16), Hezekiah (2 Kings 19), the priests during Josiah’s reign (2 Chron. 35:2), the sons of Israel who returned from exile (Ezra 6:22), Darius the Mede (Dan. 11:1), the Christians in Syrian Antioch (Acts 11:23; 15:32), the brethren at Philippi (Acts 16:40), and Paul (Acts 18:27) are recorded in the Bible as having received it. Judges, kings, priests, children of God, Christians, apostles, and even those who were not in a covenant relationship with God all needed and benefited from receiving encouragement. That tells me that everyone I meet could use whatever encouragement I can give.
So, what can I do to encourage the people I encounter today?
Express genuine gratitude to someone for something he or she specifically does or demonstrates.
Pay someone an unexpected compliment.
Tell someone’s superior how much you appreciate their work, service, etc.
Do a task or favor for someone who seems stressed or depressed.
Look someone in the eye and sincerely ask them how they are doing.
Pay attention to one who may ordinarily labor anonymously (parking attendant, security officer, door greeter, janitor, etc.).
Show interest in a co-worker or employee who seems lonely, discouraged, or is new.
Write a kind note to someone else at church (for extra credit, let it be someone you do not know well), to a preacher you may or may not know who you appreciate, or to an acquaintance from your town or neighborhood.
Smile and wave at a little child or an elderly person you come across.
Challenge yourself to find additional ways and people you can encourage. Make it more than a daily dare. Make it an every day effort. You cannot know the full, positive impact you will have and the social, emotional, and even spiritual revolution you can begin in your home, your congregation, and your community. Maybe you, too, can earn a nickname like Barnabas had, and be known as a Son or Daughter of Encouragement (cf. Acts 4:36)! Have you given someone a shot of Vitamin E today? What are you waiting for?
Someone tasked with taking a picture of a couple or small group will coach them to stand closer together, maybe adding, “Act like you like one another.” They will typically chuckle and comply. How many moms have exhorted their squabbling children with a similar phrase?
A quick perusal of social media, with its all-too-often divisive rhetoric and pejorative comments, must frequently draw the same desire from the God of heaven. Whenever He sees His children at each other’s throats, complete with nasty put-downs, sarcasm, and venomous invectives, can we envision Him pleased? Regardless of whether one is motivated by defending the faith or some dearly-cherished viewpoint, he or she does not have to drown responses in hateful, provocative words. But, it happens many times over on a daily basis. For those of us who have non-Christian or new-Christian friends with privy to such comments from professed, mature Christians, we have to wonder if, contemptuously, they chide, “Act like you like one another.” More than that, Scripture convicts us on such a count.
“Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart” (1 Pet. 1:22; cf. 4:8).
“To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing” (1 Pet. 3:8-9).
“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity” (Col. 3:12-14).
“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor” (Rom. 12:9-10).
“But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way” (Jas. 3:8-10).
“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also” (1 John 4:20-21).
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).
The noble pursuit of defending the faith and protecting the purity of doctrine can get lost or totally nullified when the most casual observer of our words cannot find the love or detect the genuine concern in the midst of the biting, devouring, caustic quips and one-liners. How we need to pause and be introspective. “Every man’s way is right in his own eyes” (Prov. 21:2a; cf. 16:2). I can easily rationalize and convince myself of my own unrighteousness, as easily as the adulterer, the one in religious error, the drunkard, and the like can do with their iniquity. Why not, as we sift through the complicated maze of “interpersonal dynamics,” deal with each other patiently, giving the benefit of the doubt wherever possible, letting lovingkindness lead the way? We are not compromising divine truth, relinquishing a scriptural position, or shying away from sharing God’s Word when we make the effort to act like we like one another. We are submitting to the ethical blueprint commanded in Scripture (see above). “Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Cor. 16:4).
Hayden Holland, who obeyed the gospel less than three years ago, taught his first Bible class last night at Teens in the Word. It was an excellent, hour-plus long study of the parallels between serving in the military and living the Christian life. In this very practical study, Hayden mentioned the Army’s concept of brotherhood. The fraternity and bond built by basic training and the structural philosophy of the armed forces creates this sense of brotherhood among soldiers. Without fellowship, he said, disputes will pull soldiers apart. Throughout his lesson, Hayden urged us to “do brotherhood.” Brotherhood is a noun, meaning “the feeling of kinship with and closeness to a group of people or all people” (Dictionary, version 2.2.1, 2016). Peter uses the word in 1 Peter 2:17, a word, according to BDAG, meaning, “A group of fellow-believers, a fellowship” (19; cf. 1 Pet. 5:9—“brethren”). Hayden’s exhortation to us was to do what it takes to create that feeling and fellowship. Saying we are brethren, even acknowledging and teaching what God says is necessary to become part of that brotherhood, is insufficient of itself. There is something to be done!
He directed us to the seven values touted by the army—“loyalty, duty, respect, honor, integrity, courage, and selfless service”—as examples of how we can “do brotherhood” in the Lord’s Army (cf. Eph. 6:10ff). Doing brotherhood means taking time to listen to and help our brothers and sisters in Christ when they are struggling. It means spending time together, engaging in each others’ lives. It means being faithful to live out what we say we believe daily, in the world and in the absence of our church family, because we love them and don’t want to let them down. It means talking out our problems and disagreements. As we work to see ourselves as a part of something bigger than just ourselves, the effect is revolutionary. Non-Christians see the bond we have with our brethren and it draws them. Jesus told His disciples that this brotherly love would be their identifying mark to a searching world (John 13:34-35).
How often it has been observed that Christianity is more than a state of being; it requires a life of doing. The brotherhood consists of all those within the body of Christ. But, that “group” has to be maintained, sustained, and retained. Such requires action! My action and your action. Let’s be sure we are “doing” brotherhood!
As Paul nears the close of his short epistle to Titus, he urges, “Diligently help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way so that nothing is lacking for them” (3:13). Whatever Paul had in mind, whether financial, transportation, lodging, emotional, or similar help, it is an interesting plea. It isn’t said, but is fair to infer, that “their way” involved spiritual business. Lange and others surmise that these were on Crete but wanting to head out on a missionary journey and that Titus must have been a man of financial means who could see to their provisions. Maybe, but let’s not miss the bigger principle. One Christian is told to help others along their way.
God’s great work is still going on today. Each of us has a role to play in advancing it, but we should not discount the importance of helping others on their way in this effort. We should do so thoroughly and thoughtfully. As we look within the local congregation, we should ask who we could help on their way.
Those who organize the Bible School program, as they look for teachers and helpers
Those who organize the worship services, as they seek those to lead it
Those who desire to engage in mission work, as they try to raise the necessary funds
Elders and deacons, who appeal for help in their respective works
Those who need a ride to the doctor
Those on our prayer list, as they have various needs we can carry to the throne of God
The homeless, imprisoned, and otherwise needy, as they represent Jesus (Mat. 25:35ff)
Our youth who would benefit from godly, spiritual leadership and mentoring
Young mothers who would be encouraged by sympathy and kindness as they strive to train their children in the assemblies
Those who organize workdays and need help from the rest of us
Those who have recently suffered a loss, as they struggle to retain balance and stability
A lost neighbor, co-worker, and family member who may be struggling to find the truth
Whoever I may have missed who needs you or me to be God’s hands and heart
Mary Barrett wrote, “Lend a hand to help a brother who is striving hard and true, don’t forget that in the valley there is someone needing you.” May we take that personally. Don’t discount what you might do to help a brother or sister on their way. What might we find, when we get to heaven, which came of taking that precious moment to supply what they needed in such a situation?
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