Why Are You In Trouble?
Mom: Why are you in trouble?
Child: I don't know. I stopped when you told me to.
Mom: When SHOULD you have stopped?
Child: Ummmm...
Here's the problem as I see it. In Deuteronomy, and throughout Scripture, we are told to "Do what is right in the eyes of the Lord." Does that mean that we are allowed to do what is wrong as long as no one is there to see it? Or that we can do what is wrong as long as we stop when we are told? Nope. Whether we like the messenger or not, we must receive admonition as it comes. For my children, they do not receive well from each other. When one speaks in an unkind way and the other says to stop, the first thinks the other is just being sensitive and continues. However, put the shoe on the other foot and let the older one be the offended one. Wow, different ending! That is why I gave all 3 of my children permission to respectfully say to me, "Mom, you're speaking ugly." In the South, that means that I'm yelling without raising my voice. If you don't understand how to do that, imagine yourself when you are upset with someone but not in a place to fuss at them. It's kind of the clenched teeth, but I WILL REMAIN CALM stance that we take. Well, God has shown me that is wrong too. Just because I'm not raising my voice doesn't mean I'm not speaking 'ugly.' If we don't learn how to adjust our own attitudes without someone else stepping in, we are not 'living in fellowship with Christ,' and we definitely won't live in fellowship with one another.
"They will know us by our love." If we can't treat each other well, what does that say to people that aren't saved? That means that even when we think we're okay, if we have offended someone, we need to rethink ourselves. Don't get me started on easily offended people. That's a whole other story.
So, the answer to the question, When should you have stopped, is really quite simple. When the thought popped in your head to act/behave/say a certain way or thing, you should've fought it there in that battlefield, the mind, and not let it take physical form.
I am certain that I have work to do, but I am also certain that He who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion!
Phil. 1:6
Child: I don't know. I stopped when you told me to.
Mom: When SHOULD you have stopped?
Child: Ummmm...
Here's the problem as I see it. In Deuteronomy, and throughout Scripture, we are told to "Do what is right in the eyes of the Lord." Does that mean that we are allowed to do what is wrong as long as no one is there to see it? Or that we can do what is wrong as long as we stop when we are told? Nope. Whether we like the messenger or not, we must receive admonition as it comes. For my children, they do not receive well from each other. When one speaks in an unkind way and the other says to stop, the first thinks the other is just being sensitive and continues. However, put the shoe on the other foot and let the older one be the offended one. Wow, different ending! That is why I gave all 3 of my children permission to respectfully say to me, "Mom, you're speaking ugly." In the South, that means that I'm yelling without raising my voice. If you don't understand how to do that, imagine yourself when you are upset with someone but not in a place to fuss at them. It's kind of the clenched teeth, but I WILL REMAIN CALM stance that we take. Well, God has shown me that is wrong too. Just because I'm not raising my voice doesn't mean I'm not speaking 'ugly.' If we don't learn how to adjust our own attitudes without someone else stepping in, we are not 'living in fellowship with Christ,' and we definitely won't live in fellowship with one another.
"They will know us by our love." If we can't treat each other well, what does that say to people that aren't saved? That means that even when we think we're okay, if we have offended someone, we need to rethink ourselves. Don't get me started on easily offended people. That's a whole other story.
So, the answer to the question, When should you have stopped, is really quite simple. When the thought popped in your head to act/behave/say a certain way or thing, you should've fought it there in that battlefield, the mind, and not let it take physical form.
I am certain that I have work to do, but I am also certain that He who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion!
Phil. 1:6
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