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Love God, Love People

Too often people think that Christians think they're perfect. We don't. We know we fail. On a daily basis. We are not better, we have  something better. You see because we are Christians, we have the hope of the cross. That doesn't make us less human. Most days I wish it did. We are called to be separate from the world, but sometimes we fall into the same pitfalls as anyone else.
When we step back and look at the culture, we are actually taught to react without thinking. Take facebook for example. We react with likes or love, sometimes even anger or surprise. We react quickly. We can comment and give our opinion in about ten seconds. We are taught to react to each other and then keep on scrolling. Most times we don't even think about how we reacted. We are conditioned to let people know how we feel about what they think. This is now the age we live in. The age of reaction.
I have been watching Andy Griffith a lot with my family lately. I love the show. It's back when times were simple and morals meant something. Andy was such an upstanding character, and I just love how he handles everyone. He doesn't act like they're dumb, he encourages them. He helps them. He doesn't react when someone mistreats him. He's very calm and wise. I mean, how many times must Barney shoot that gun off before Andy finally takes it away for good?
We live in a world now that's completely divided because everyone has an opinion and we shout just to have ours heard. Proverbs 18:2 says 'A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.' I'm so guilty of this sometimes. Most of us are. We are not interested in why you do what you do, or think how you think. We just want you to know why we are right and you are not.
I have gotten into two arguments this past week. One about something that offended me on facebook, which thankfully we worked out, because I almost lost a friend. The second one was over something personal, which I won't go into. I reacted badly in both situations. Sometimes we are so determined because we know we are correct, but just because we are correct doesn't mean we're right. As a Christian, every single time you interact with a person, you either bring them closer to Jesus, push them further away.
Proverbs 12:16 The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult.
Proverbs 13:3 Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life: he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
Proverbs 18:2 Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.
Proverbs 20:11 Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.
Proverbs 20:22 Do not say "I will repay evil"; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.
Proverbs 21:23 Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.
I don't think it's an accident that this is my daily bible reading. I have failed miserably. I was honestly proud of myself for the way I reacted in my personal situation because I restrained myself greatly. Now God has shown me that I grieved his heart in my reaction.
I am called to be better. I am His and I need to learn that it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. I am not supposed to treat people as bad as they are. I'm supposed to treat them with grace because that's how Jesus deals with me.  I don't have to react to everything anyone says or does that I don't agree with. My life simply cannot be about Jesus if I keep making it about me.
I plan on writing these scriptures out until God writes them on my heart. When I'm tempted to react, I hope that I can instead hold onto the words of my creator and just love God and love people.



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