How Do You Treat Others?

     Speech is a powerful tool that God has given to man.  How we use that tool can either build someone up or tear them down in a minute.  Daily, we encounter people who may not be the kindest individuals.  Many are unbelievers.  Do we snub them?  Do we hate them or treat them as "less than"?  Are we concerned about their salvation?  Do we feel superior because we have truth and they don't?  How we answer those questions is important because the Lord wants us always to be wise in our actions and speech with believers and non-believers as well.
     In writing to the Church in Colosse, Paul, the Apostle, wrote these words concerning our conduct towards those outside the faith:  "Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. 6Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person" (Colossians 4:5-6).  Paul is right.  We need
wisdom towards those we meet who may not share our conviction that Jesus Christ is Savior.  Our faith is more than just believing in the Lord, it also requires a change in our lifestyle.  Where before, we might have made fun of someone or treated them unkindly, now we are called upon to treat them with the love of Christ.  Why?  Because our conduct speaks volumes to those who know us to be Christian and watch our actions to see if they line up with our words.
     This is especially true for those of us that work outside our homes.  In our case, we have a family business.  We meet all types of people every day.  We see our focus as one of service, professionalism but also one of extending kindness and care even if the other person doesn't react that way in return.  No one knows when someone comes into your store or business what has just happened to that person on the way there.  Perhaps they are a caregiver for a sick spouse or a recent widow.  This forms how they might respond to others.  This is why we need godly wisdom every day so we may know how to respond instead of react to others.  It is human nature (the sin nature) to snap back at someone who has just snapped at us.  However, if we use words of grace, seasoned with salt, we might win that person over and open the door for further conversation in the future.  Many people come to accept Christ because of a relationship with a Christian who lives their faith in both speech and actions.
     I recall a story that Corrie Ten Boom shared in a talk she gave.  She had been traveling all over telling others about what she and her sister experienced in the concentration camps and how Christ sustained them.  At one meeting, Corrie said that a person there came up to her and told her that he had been a guard in the concentration camp where she had been held.  This person had become a Christian and asked Corrie to forgive him for playing a part in her nightmare.  She was stunned and in herself she did not want to forgive this person.  However, as she struggled within, she knew that the Lord would want her to forgive this person.  She was able, by God's grace, to extend a hand of forgiveness to this person even though it was the hardest thing she had ever done.  God helped her with her actions and her words.
     Kind words, a friendly smile, and an effort to reach out to someone does not cost us anything.  When we share this with those outside the faith instead of criticizing them, we will have opened a door for further communication and a chance to perhaps share our faith.  However, when we act like the world, we close a door that might not open again.  Lets watch our speech and conduct ourselves with wisdom around family members, co-workers, friends and neighbors who may not share our faith in Christ and see what the Lord does in opening up opportunities.  We are God's ambassadors and as such, we must be careful how we conduct our lives for many are watching.  Selah!

Have you been able to encourage someone who is not a Christian?  How has God used you?

Ever Doubt the Sin Nature?

     Here we are once again at the most wonderful time of the year when we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ.  Warm feelings abound, good will seems to be observed in extra measure and there is a kinder, gentler attitude among our fellow men or is there?
     During the long holiday weekend following Thanksgiving, our daughter and her husband went shopping for bargains during the "early" Black Friday sales.  In one store while they were looking at several items, they heard a fight break out over some video games that were on special.  It was at this point our daughter told us she did not feel safe.  Of course, it could have been worse.  She could have been at the store where a woman pepper sprayed her competition in order to get what she wanted.  At another location, someone was shot.  The newspaper reported a customer saying she witnessed two women fighting over towels which cost $1.28.  I find this all hard to imagine, but the Bible tells us that we should not be surprised since "...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).  If ever there is evidence of our sin nature, this is one occasion we can see it clearly.
     When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God in the Garden, not only were they cast out of this paradise but they also brought sin and death to all mankind.  As Paul goes on to write in Romans 5, he notes:  "Therefore just as sin came into the world through one man, and death, through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned...."(verse 12).  Because sin has permeated every part of our being (our thoughts, our will, our soul), we are slaves to sin and dead to righteousness.  It is not until the Lord awakens us by regenerating our soul that we can come to faith in Christ who alone liberates us from sin and death.  His atoning sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection has broken the curse for us.  He carried our sin, and by His blood, we are made whole and clean.  However, it does not stop there.  Our life is a journey as we grow in our faith through prayer, study of God's Word and fellowship with other believers. Nevertheless, we would be foolish to think we will not fall into sin again.  As long as the "old flesh" still clings to us (though its power is broken), we can succumb to old besetting sins once more.  This is why it is so important for us to daily walk by God's Spirit, and be aware of what the Bible calls sin.

     In the fifth chapter of Paul's letter to the Galatians, he enumerates the sins of the flesh and why it is important to lean upon the Holy Spirit.  He writes:  "For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.  Now the works of the flesh are evident:  sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these I warn you as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" (verses 17-21).  We need to remember that Paul was writing to believers here.  He knew the frailty of our flesh, and made clear how we must walk by the Spirit.  In fact, verse 16 says:  "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."  Paul's opening verse of this chapter starts out with a call to take a stand:  "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1).  The only way we can over come our tendency to return to the sins of the flesh is to rely upon the Holy Spirit who gives us the strength to stand.
     If ever we have doubted the sin nature, Black Friday incidents certainly point to man's selfishness.  However, it isn't limited to this one day out of the year, and unfortunately, there are times when we see Christians also demonstrate sin in their lives.  The Good News is that the baby born in a manger in Bethlehem came to set us free.  He bought our pardon with His blood.  As believers, we need to meditate on this and live it out day by day as we prepare for this holy celebration.  We do not have to live according to the flesh.  Paul concludes chapter 5 to Galatian believers with these words of encouragement:
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against  such things there is no law.  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another" (Galatians 5:22-26).  Putting into practice this walk in the Spirit will bring glory to God and bless our fellow man.  Take time this Advent season to think on these things and be the example to others of Christ's love.  This is what our world needs much more than a Play Station game or some other bargain on the shelf.  Selah!


I welcome your thoughts and comments here.  Please feel free to leave a word of encouragement.