Do we really believe we have a responsibility to "watch out" and "love" one another, "receive one another", "edify one another", "serve one another", "bear one another's burdens", "forgive one another", "submit to one another", "exhort one another", "consider one another", "be hospitable to one another"? When we see another in error, is it our responsibility to help correct the error or do we say, "You know the Lord will take care of that...we reap what we sow?"
The New Testament reveals "Our Responsibilities to one Another". It is commanded by Jesus (Jn 13:34-35; 15:12).
John 13:34-35 (NIV) 34"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
John 15:13 (NIV) 13 “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” 17 “This is my command: Love each other.”
Do we understand the full meaning of our "Responsibilities to One Another"? Enlighten me.
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I'm telling you this is a world all about SELF....and it takes people such as Christians, going to 3rd WORLD countries to really find out what LOVE is!!! No one wants to take any "extra time" to listen, pay attention to, or try see anybody's pain and suffering because we can't seem to get past our own! The bible speaks for itself, when it says that as this world comes to an end, "the love of many will wax cold"..Love is supposed to warm the hearts of others, and now people are COLD HEARTED...we don't even know how to love, and we barely walk with God long enough to really know what TRUE love is all about! I'm saying this because I SEE ME!!! Another reason why we have a hard time loving others and really "bearing each other's burdens" is because we got too much resentment, anger, and fear of loving someone afraid of getting hurt in the process because we still holding on the hurt from yesterday, last month, or last year! And until we learn how to truly "LET GO AND LET GOD" deal with the issues within, we won't be able to LOVE like HE LOVES...We think that doing for someone we could care for or do care for is wasteful unless we're getting something in return...and what we fail to realize is that the BLESSING is in the GIVING...and DOING...because when you learn to live for somone else, God always sends someone to live for you...at the time that you will need somebody...That I do know...Remember the Least of These, if there is something we can do for someone else, we should, because someone has taken the time to be there for us whether we see it or not...We haven't gotten that far without the help of someone else...Selfishness and pride is NOT OF GOD...
It is very interesting that you would ask about our responsibility to one another as Christians. It is controversial in many religious circles especially concerning familial relationships and submission(husbands and wives, parents and children). I have found that yes, as brothers and sisters in the body of Christ there is a responsibility TO one another to love one another as Christ loved us and that means a working to repair broken relationships when possible, and yes, also helping one another when we see them walking contrary to the God's Word. However, We are not responsible FOR one another's choices. Each of us is given a conscience before God and ultimately we must all appear before Him. We cannot force anyone to see things our way. In fact, it should not be our way at all but rather "Not my will but Thine O Lord." I believe sometimes we confuse our preference (on how Christians should behave) with Providence. Our standard for how we respond and treat one another is "Am I willing to die (to self) for this person like Christ died for me? Would I put my life on the line for him/her? and What does the Word of God say? instead of How do I feel about this situation?" and if we are honest, then we would be less likely to say and do some of the things we do to hurt one another in the name of "brother's keeper." I have had situations where all I can do is pray for God to be the keeper He is when a friend is bent on doing what they knew was wrong and God kept them without a doubt. I've had to rebuke and I've also been in a place where I've been rebuked and it hurt because it was what I needed, but I also knew that the speaker was not speaking for themselves and their relationship to me was that of true friend and they had shown that it was about my welfare and not them. I think we should question our motives more often especially when we are "itching" to tell someone about themselves.
Coolsw,often I think we don't look on the inside of people. It takes time, patience. We are so bent on not allowing ourselves to be hurt and "MADE A FOOL OF" that we think we're going for the gold when we go with what we see. God has taught me that when I concentrate on doing what is right regardless of how I may feel (because its not about me, plus feelings can be misleading)that I'm walking in His Love. Even though,that walk may hurt another. I don't believe Love is always warm and reassuring but Love is always truth. Which incorporates what you, CeCe is saying; motives for telling someone about themselves. Is it to make ourselves look better, more "holy" or is it to help that person. 95% of the time when I am listening and commenting, I talk from experience of where God has brought me. And you know,even though at times we think that's a good idea...we still need to be led by what we share. How many times have we shared with another and think it was for their good because we went through something similar and the person didn't receive it or received it very negatively.
Bear with me as I elaborate a little. God has shown me the quality of the work that He requires of me...so I with my little mind thinks it is the quality that He requires period so excitedly, I want to share this... In that thinking, it has hurt other people, and made them feel inferior because they could not live up to that quality whether it being that they don't process those same gifts as I or just didn't want to put in the extra work to bring it up to the standards that God has given me. Now I won't lower the standards God has given me just to make another feel good, however, I will teach you what He has given me, I will not just do it because you don't want to put in the work, and I have learned, that this is what God required of me and it is not necessarily what He requires of another so I am still learning to be more tactful in my comments when asked what do I think. I say the above to make the point, sometimes we find ourselves in a position where our approach is wrong instead of what we say. We don't want to hurt another's feelings so "no comment is the right comment" to make another feel better instead of being truthful. Does that benefit our brother/sister?
Hi everybody!!!! Sometimes we think we know what's best for someone else, and we act on those feelings instead of letting God deal with that person. Even when friends or family are in relationships are contrary to what "we think" is best for them, we want them to change immediately, or see things from our standpoint, which the walk is individual and on their and God's time. I think that we need to recognize our own responsibility and requirements in regards to who and what God wants us to be first. Meaning that God brought to my mind Matt. 7, which talks about judging one another, and making sure that when we approach a brother or sister in Christ, that "the plank is out of our eye, so that we can see clearly the little piece of wood in our brother/ssiter's eye". Like we said before, we have our own feelings that can get in the way and we act on what "we think" we see. Many times God is working on the inside, and because an outward change is not visible, we don't trust God enough to be working on the heart of that person. Everybody doesn't need to know our past situations, especially when they are experiencing "present" problems. It doesn't always help, but what does help is a listening ear. Sometimes comfort comes in knowing that the person is willing to take time and hear what I'm going through, not trying to solve it, or be there just to know my business. I'm talking to myself because I am a solve it person. Sometimes you can't solve what your brother or sister is going through, and neither can they; but GOD can! Not all the answers come from you...it that were so, we would be God...and I know I can't be Him. He said that we can be LIKE HIM....but there is NO ONE that can BE HIM. I know that I just took this in a whole nother direction, but I think that ultimately we think that we know more than God, and can handle things better than He can. We don't give God enough time to really work on us!! When we're hurting, or being rebuked, we want it to end ASAP! So we need to take time to think about that person, and how we would want to be approached and treated, and if it is even meant for us to approach that person first. Next topic...how to know and move according to the Holy Spirit. Do we really allow the Holy Spirit to use us or do we move first, and then ask for the Spirit to intervene later? Let's talk about that!!!
The majority of us do! Its our nature, its what we know when we haven't or forgotten to put God first. How many times have we waited on things to happen and when they don't...we say God must not have wanted that. Factually though, "IT" did happen but we missed it because "IT" didn't happen the way we wanted it to. I think we a lot of times we don't consult Him and think for God because we think we know whats best and react too quickly, wrongly or not at all on some matters. We stand on our own strength, wisdom and foresight which leads to disappointment and distress and even when it works out in our favor...with God it could have been GREAT!
You know the wait is sometimes so emotionally fatiguing. You think you're ready for whatever you think you're ready for and God is yet preparing you and the situation. However in that fatiguing wait, if we would seek His Will and peace, we wouldn't get so exhausted while waiting. Point, I can feel God changing me inside, and I believe that its for my future...when I think of doing something, I want to leave the city to do it. The mental stimulation that used to satisfy now fails to even nourish the thought. So what does God do, He uses me to help others while He prepares for me. He led to interview someone and as she talked, I begin to experience a strong kindred spirit with her. It was as if the Holy Spirit planted Himself within my spirit so strongly that I was so filled with His presence and speechless at the same time but I began to speak and later learn from her that I was a confirmation and apart of the preparation for her ministry's increased territory. I said that to say that if we would stay in tune with God no matter what our emotionally turmoils may be that we would yet still be able to be used to help others while we wait on Him to do what He's doing for us. AND I am my brother's keeper; I am suppose to help him/her as God has helped me. Make yourself available to help while you wait! Now enlighten me on why as Christians...why we don't desire to help each other UNLESS...its something in store for us!
Tean, the reason why waiting on God is so emotionally draining is because we exhaust ourselves trying to make God move faster instead of taking the peace that He has promised, and trusting Him. See, I stress over things that I can't control....and one day it's clicks in my brain, "there is absolutely nothing that I can do, God You take it!" We allow our brains to be overworked, our hearts to be emotionally overdrawn, and our bodies to be overdone!! To the point that there is nothing left but to rely on God! Because He DOESN'T GET OVERWORKED, OVERDRAWN, OR OVERDONE--IF THAT'S A WORD!! When your body just shuts down!
Now, ultimately, when we try to help someone else, 9 times out of 10 it's not something done unconsciously. We just happen to help--no, we take time to think about who we're gonna help because we think out of fleshly mindsets! When am I gonna get mine...ME, ME, ME! Even we ask for blessings from God, we rarely God for the blessings He sends to help it profit someone else! Why? We're too busy stuck on our own problems, situations, and ourselves. We don't even take the time to think of our brothers and sisters (blood or not)as people we should be keepers of. We say, "well, they got themselves in their mess, let them fix it". And we also never take the time to see things through someone else's shoes, because we're too busy TRYING TO TAKE OURS OFF AND EXCHANGE IT FOR ANOTHER PAIR!!! Because we think a new life, a new pair of shoes to fit the life we want, would be better! That's why God says, (Paraphrasing) "Eyes have not seen, nor have entered into the heart of man, the things that God has promised us". The things we really want, the mate we really want...still doesn't compare to the REAL THINGS God has in store for us....why aren't we trying to wait on that??? Instead, we want everything in front of us--whether it will save us or not! We just want it. We're just like little kids---eyes bigger than our stomach!!! Will we ever truly be able to say, "God, I've had enough, you have blessed me enough. Now whatever you do, just save me and help me to wait for what's above. Help me to set my affections on Your Heavenly Treasures waiting for me there". Maybe if we had that mindset that ALL GLORY BELONGS TO GOD--which includes what I do for others and what God has entrusted to me down here, that we wouldn't mind being our brother's keeper. Our minds would be on what WE can Gain, but Ultimately, WHAT GLORY GOD GETS!
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