1 Corinthians 10:23-24
23"Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is constructive. 24Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. (NIV)if you didnt understand that, another version goes like this:
23All things are legitimate [permissible--and we are free to do anything we please], but not all things are helpful (expedient, profitable, and wholesome). All things are legitimate, but not all things are constructive [to character] and edifying [to spiritual life].
24Let no one then seek his own good and advantage and profit, but [rather] each one of the other [let him seek the welfare of his neighbor]. (Amplified Bible)
Furthermore,
23-24Looking at it one way, you could say, "Anything goes. Because of God's immense generosity and grace, we don't have to dissect and scrutinize every action to see if it will pass muster." But the point is not to just get by. We want to live well, but our foremost efforts should be to help others live well. (The Message)
it always surprises me how many different ways the bible could be interpreted.
So, back to my real point.
What I experienced during my conversation with God and my struggle with my friend was very powerful. I'm still in awe of how God knows me so well. I think that our sinful nature is constantly working inside us without us knowing. This is dangerous because we sometimes our actions hurt others and/or ruins other people's views about what we believe in. But really, once we realize that we are at fault, what do we do to stop our sinful nature? Do we just think about it and forget it the next second? Or do we take a step and ask God to help us cleanse ourselves of this sin? Right now, I'm in a mixed emotion... i still want to get the message across to my friend that his/her actions upset me (and not just me). But at the same time, how do i act out of love? How do i make sure that my motivation is from God and not from my own evil schemes? Many times, i think we struggle with this, and we subconsciously just let it go. We don't deal with these situations because we don't know what to do, and we don't want to ruin friendship. Or, we just dont have the guts to do it. But really, if the results of me confronting my friend enables him/her to really see what's going on, maybe he/she can change. Maybe God is working in him/her too. I think a really big message from 1 Cor. is that whatever you do, if it doesn't benefit others, don't do it. This is very hard for me, if you know me well enough. I tend to take things into my control and do whatever my mood fits. I'm learning to let God take control, and also to be transformed into someone better than who i am right now.
As we said today in fellowship, God is our refuge, our stronghold, our shield, our protection, our strength... He is able to help us through whatever struggles we have, only if we let him.
May we continue to reflect on God's "bigness" and get to know him even more.
-a.
Oh...so this is your sharing! :) This is what I think I might do...Keep loving your friend until he/she feels your love so overwhelmingly that your friend knows you're a trusted friend, then gently tells him/her how you "feel" about what happened that day, directly, personally, not through other people or other means. Remember, share your "feelings" only, not "confronting" his/her wrongs (there is a difference)...and then see how he/she responds. The difference is that you own your feelings, so your friend cannot comment on something that is so true to you. Your friend might justify his/her own action or words, but at least now he/she knows how you feel.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if you cannot love him/her anymore because of this incident, learn to forgive first. Forgiveness is for our peace's sake, not dependable upon if he/she apologizes to you. Jesus "forgives" 'cause He chooses to, despite whether we admit our wrongs or not.
May God grant you the power to forgive and greater love to help this person grow!
God bless.