I've just written a book by that title, but it won't be out this fall. I have realized there is some more information I must gather and I'm hoping you will help me.
I have a great passion for the subject because--you guessed it--I was crushed by some people who proudly called themselves Christian.
When this happens, you really wonder if they are true believers or if they're just mouthing words that have never rooted in their hearts. It is bad enough that Christian adults wield a double-edged sword at their fellow siblings, but why would people who love each other do it? This is something that I have not been able to fathom.
Daughter to mother, son to father and the other way around young people do not have the maturity yet to know how their words, the pin pricks as my neighbor used to say turn into sword stabs. Undoubtedly, God gave parents the thick skin protectant from the pin pricks and the sword stabs so that we would never break off all relations with our children. We parents know this is something that is bound to happen; and perhaps it is because we recall with shame the swords we brandished at our own parents. We knew it would come back because of the famous mother's curse, "May you have children exactly like you!"
However, when we ravage our children or we castrate our husbands or we wrap our wives in barbed wire, we are not hurting those who have angered us as much as we are doing it to God our Father. Jesus said, "When you do it to the least of these, you do it to Me." Of course it is understood that He was talking about feeding and nurturing the flock, but how much more we should recognize that whatever we do to others we are doing it to our Lord.
That should make us pause before we lash out. It should throw cold water on our rage. But as far as I can tell, Christians seem to be turning this verse around and accusing the sibling of unfaithful actions rather than recognizing the blame resides at their own front door.
How can that be? How can self-righteous people use the Bible to slice and dice their siblings without regard to how they are slicing and dicing the Holy Spirit right along with their sibling?
It is rather auspicious to think what we say and do doesn't really matter in the long run, because if it hurts the least of these, it hurts our Father. If it causes the least of these to turn their foot from God's path it is worse than blaspheming the Holy Spirit because that makes us a stumbling block and it would be better that a millstone be tied around our necks and we be thrown into the sea. That's how Jesus felt about it. How can we be any different?
I'm hoping you will help me for this will be my thesis for my Master's in Communication.
How were you hurt by a Christian? What did you do about it? Is it resolved, yet?
How did you hurt another person while believing what you did was of God? How did you realized it wasn't? What did you do about it? Is it resolved?
If you do not want to answer here, would you please, please email me? GLburgess at gmail dot com.
I have a great passion for the subject because--you guessed it--I was crushed by some people who proudly called themselves Christian.
When this happens, you really wonder if they are true believers or if they're just mouthing words that have never rooted in their hearts. It is bad enough that Christian adults wield a double-edged sword at their fellow siblings, but why would people who love each other do it? This is something that I have not been able to fathom.Daughter to mother, son to father and the other way around young people do not have the maturity yet to know how their words, the pin pricks as my neighbor used to say turn into sword stabs. Undoubtedly, God gave parents the thick skin protectant from the pin pricks and the sword stabs so that we would never break off all relations with our children. We parents know this is something that is bound to happen; and perhaps it is because we recall with shame the swords we brandished at our own parents. We knew it would come back because of the famous mother's curse, "May you have children exactly like you!"
However, when we ravage our children or we castrate our husbands or we wrap our wives in barbed wire, we are not hurting those who have angered us as much as we are doing it to God our Father. Jesus said, "When you do it to the least of these, you do it to Me." Of course it is understood that He was talking about feeding and nurturing the flock, but how much more we should recognize that whatever we do to others we are doing it to our Lord.
That should make us pause before we lash out. It should throw cold water on our rage. But as far as I can tell, Christians seem to be turning this verse around and accusing the sibling of unfaithful actions rather than recognizing the blame resides at their own front door.
How can that be? How can self-righteous people use the Bible to slice and dice their siblings without regard to how they are slicing and dicing the Holy Spirit right along with their sibling?
It is rather auspicious to think what we say and do doesn't really matter in the long run, because if it hurts the least of these, it hurts our Father. If it causes the least of these to turn their foot from God's path it is worse than blaspheming the Holy Spirit because that makes us a stumbling block and it would be better that a millstone be tied around our necks and we be thrown into the sea. That's how Jesus felt about it. How can we be any different?
I'm hoping you will help me for this will be my thesis for my Master's in Communication.
How were you hurt by a Christian? What did you do about it? Is it resolved, yet?
How did you hurt another person while believing what you did was of God? How did you realized it wasn't? What did you do about it? Is it resolved?
If you do not want to answer here, would you please, please email me? GLburgess at gmail dot com.
4 comments:
I've been told I need to write a book (or two). I haven't a clue how to go about that. I'm going to have to pick your brain sometime, aren't I?
Hi Gina -
I so feel you on this - but GOD - Hallelujah praise His name.
Psalm 107:20 - KJV
He sent his word and healed them, and delivered them...
Yes, Stanley, you should really write a book! You have a wealth of material on your blog ;>
Thank you, Sandra, I can't begin to tell you how God has pressed this into my heart.
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