Sunday, May 12, 2013

Saint Paul reminds us..."Let it go!"

Saint Paul was well acquainted with anger and resentment. Before he received Christ Jesus into his life....he had a "thing" about Christians...he preferred them dead. Paul thought at that time Christianity was a severe threat to his Jewish beliefs.....

 In Ephesians 4:31 Paul now has a whole different attitude about Christians. In fact, he had a whole new outlook on others in general. Paul now sends this letter to the Christian believers in Ephesus and explained to them it is time to "let go" of the thoughts and attitudes that they too  previously had....before they invited Christ Jesus to be the Lord of their lives.

 Some of these things Paul writes to the believers in Ephesus that is necessary to "let go" include:

1. Bitterness: Usually is found alive in your heart when someone has done you wrong. As a result, it has become a hurt in your life and you will hold on to it till "the day you die".
 When you know you suffer with bitterness, it does not always mean you are now forced to restore...a friendship...or relationship for example. What it does mean is when you choose to give bitterness a place in you heart...the only person you are really hurting...is yourself.
 So, what you are required to do as a believer in Christ Jesus?... find a way to forgive the person who has wronged you...and there is a way already prepared for you to do so...His Name is Christ Jesus. Let Him begin to walk you through the process...by giving study to what the Sacred Scriptures say in relation to bitterness...and to secure your freedom from bitterness by accompanying His thoughts about this...with prayer.

2. Rage and Anger:  These two can be somewhat noticeable...particularly when you suddenly "go bezerk", and have a very vocal burst of anger, usually from some wrong feeling or perhaps a hurt that someone has done to you. Anger is a "real bad boy", and can grow some serious deep roots in an individual's life, and Rage is a close friend of Anger...and when they both come together...it often becomes some serious "drama".
 The real question arises again: Who are you really hurting when you allow these 2 dominate your life?....The answer: yourself.

3. Screaming and Shouting: Another "tag team" that often brings ugly results. Angry people often shout when they explode: whatever they have rationalized in their minds that preempted this outburst...suddenly comes out loud and clear. The thing is...people that practice this type of communicating usually have this thought and this thought alone:  they are right on how they feel...and this is the way to get "the message across". 
 Normally, shouting at others scare people, or worse it can trigger anger in another...and "here we go"...The fight is On!"

4. "Cussing" as a means of communicating with others: Using any form of verbal abuse, or choosing "choice words" to express what you feel about someone or putting down another's ideas and/or opinions...does not bring good results as well. And if what you are cussing about includes lying about someone....you have just dug yourself a "deep hole". 
 Certainly there are times in life we need to be direct with others...like "straight up"...and tell them what we think. But in doing so...we don't "diss" someone while expressing ourselves. There is a better way...and yep...same guy....Christ Jesus...and He already has a plan for us to "improve our ways of communicating".

 After all, don't you think if any one had the right to "diss" anyone....Jesus would be the One who should "diss" us? All we did was join the crowds saying He was a fake, and agreed to have Him suffering a horrible death on a Roman Cross. The "crazy" part...He did so willingly...because He loves us so much!

                         A Gleaning from Ephesians 4:31-32

 "Now is the time for us as believers, followers of the Risen Christ, to let go of all the bitterness, the anger and rage, the screaming and shouting at one another, the indignation, the backbiting, the resentment and slander, and all the selfish and hurtful ways we have learned in coping with life. These "old behaviors and reactions" toward others only lead to other things that are not birthed in the Lord Jesus....profanity, speaking abusively to others, and just being flat rude.

 Instead, this is a time for all of us as believers in Him to practice becoming useful, helpful, gentle, and kind with one another. It is now the time to have a better understanding of what others are going through and listen more closely to their rationale on various situations they encounter in this journey we call....life.
 This is the time for us to exercise mercy toward others, and to quickly learn to forgive one another...with "no strings attached". After all, hasn't God...who is our own Father...completely forgiven you?...and we have obtained this mercy through the death of His Son, our Lord, Jesus our Messiah!"

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