Series: Imperfect Women Living for Christ, Part 4
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Worth repeating: FIRST, we PRAY! It’s always a good place to start, especially in times of pain, on our knees crying out to the Lord. Lord Help. And He does. We also should turn to His Word. He has something to say about the kinds of people we’re talking about. The ones who continually dig up evil and run their mouths viscously against us. (Join me back for part 2 and we’ll look into God’s Word to see more of what He tells us to do when we find ourselves at the receiving end of these attacks.)
Ongoing contentious behavior calls for direct consequences
Proverbs 16:27 tells us a worthless man digs up evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire. A perverse man spreads dissension and gossip divides close friends (brothers). There is still room for love, for grace and forgiveness, but when we look into scripture, there’s even more to realize. How do we honor the Lord in this?
The wrong way to handle things
Quickly let’s talk about what we don’t do, or we might do but really shouldn’t. Many times our visceral reaction will be birthed out of the pain of anger. Recognize it’s ok to be angry but our reactions need to be pleasing to the Lord (Psalm 4:4). Running a mental list of this persons faults isn’t going to help you, them or the situation at hand, and it’s likely going to sway your attitude and before you know it, it’s your own sin that needs confessing.
2 Cor 10:3-5 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
Stay Humble
While we’re at it, as we rack our brains trying to find a reason for this happening, it’s likely we will start compiling another list. This time we are accounting our own praises. While we may not be to blame for this situation, we also don’t want to think too highly of ourselves. Think on the things that please the Lord. (Phil 4:8) Knowing we did not create the circumstances to this attack doesn’t mean we have permission to become prideful. Pride cometh before the fall (Proverbs 16:18), and this is hard enough already, right?
