Everywhere we look, people don't want to be held accountable, people don't want to admit their short comings, they don't want to talk about why they act the way they do, they don't want to be bothered.
At the same time, rudeness, the inability to cope with others ideas, opinions, or comments plague our society. We are a society of etiquette formalities, political correctness, living up to others expectations or being judged by others bunk!
What Plagues society is "SPIRITUAL IMMATURITY." Our nature through weakness can allow the spirit of Christ to give us strength, that is the only option, to love others, to forgive others, to put aside, pride, bitterness, and judgement, in order to get along and submit to God's will in our lives and the world for the betterment of man.
We're so full of ourselves, so proud, we can't even face a little criticism, we want our privacy in either position or individuality.
While privacy is good at the right times and in the right places, it is important we feel normal, when we're in public, when we do wrong, when we say the wrong things or when we have an opinion, someone will criticize us for it. Last time I check, it was a free world. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.
Look at Jesus, think about God, think about how Jesus had to tell people the truth, because he was the living soul of truth. Do you think he offended people?
When he healed people, he said, "thy sins be forgiven thee rise up and walk, or receive thy sight," did the people say, hey wait a minute, what did I do wrong, why do I need to be forgiven to be healed? I haven't read about it.
When he told the Sadducees and Pharisees that they were nothing but white washed tombs, do you think they were offended?
Read Matthew chapter 23. Jesus ridicules the scribes and Pharisees through out that whole chapter.
Here's my point, Jesus was so human, so adapted to get along with people, so amiable, that when people couldn't take His truths, they left him or criticized him. How is it people were drawn to him, mostly it was because HE healed people, but at the same time they despised him? He was so good natured, yet at the same time, he didn't use flattery, he displayed his feelings on his sleeve, his sensitiveness, truthfulness, and his boldness or some people would say frankness. He didn't always get along with people, because he was the word incarnate, the word of truth.
So when us believers tell the truth, we are persecuted as well, and asked, what do we know? What we see as truth, is questioned as our imagination, and maybe our truth isn't what the truth really is or maybe it is, but we are criticized for it. Well, maybe in some cases it's not, but we still speak as we are led by the Holy Ghost! Read 1st John chapters 2 particularly 2:20,21 and 2:27.
As a believer, if you are a mature believer, you better not get offended easily, and if you do get offended, it had better not be for long before you allow the Holy Spirit to bring the reality of the love of Christ within you, to a point of application.
Was Christ offended? Did he ever say, the things we as humans say to people when we are offended?
April 13th, 2012 -10 rev.