Proving to others what is Righteous or really Being Righteous?

[JS]

Proving to others what is Righteous or really Being Righteous?


Have you ever noticed how "Christians", when speaking to other Christians, or non-Christians, have such a love and passion for spreading the WORD that we often get into the mind set of "I AM RIGHT, YOU ARE WRONG?" Or we get into a frustrated mentality "WHY CAN'T THEY UNDERSTAND? ARE THEY JUST PLAIN DUMB?"

This frustration can lead into anger and then instead of merely thinking evil of our brothers and sisters, we verbalize it!

JAM 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue,
but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion [is] vain.
JAM 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things.
Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
JAM 3:6 And the tongue [is] a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among
our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of
nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
JAM 3:7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things
in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
JAM 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; [it is] an unruly evil, full of deadly
poison.

What is the cause?

Lately, two of the biggest issues I have been facing in my walk with the Lord are PRIDE and SELFISHNESS.

PRIDE:

"I KNOW I'M RIGHT! I have studied this for 20 years and you haven't done your homework, you don't know what you're talking about!"
"Who are you to lecture me on this topic? What would you know about anything?"
"You're just a know it all hypocrite spreading ignorance and lies."

Yes, I've thought these things and worse...even verbalized them to and AT people. I find when I remember those past sins I get to eat yet another slice of humble pie. In fact, I just happen to own a bakery that specializes in humble pie.

(A little humor can be a good thing!)

SELFISHNESS:

Who's will am I serving? Who do I glorify?
When I walk out of my house wearing my 'RIGHTEOUS CHRISTIAN SUIT' and go and deal with people, I represent "Christ"...or at least I think I do. Do I really?
"I'm going to do HIS WILL" I say to myself.
But am I really serving him or my own vanity and pride?
When I condemn someone in the name of Christ because they aren't at the same place I am in my walk with the Lord, who do I serve?
When I ridicule someone because they have a different perception of the Lord, who do I glorify?
When I have a condescending attitude or look down on someone for their weakness, or think less of them, what am I showing them?

MAT 12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good
things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
MAT 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they
shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
MAT 12:37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt
be condemned.

(It's time for a double helping of crow now!)

When I come across as a self righteous Bible thumper am I serving the Lord? In condemning and criticizing people, am I causing their hearts to be opened...or shut to the Lord?
Am I bringing LOVE and PEACE to a down trodden brother or sister who already has so much pain and sorrow in their life?

In my life, I have found, more often than not, that I have turned people away from the Lord through my pride, arrogance, vanity, selfishness. I have witnessed this first hand in other "Christians" as well.
If I find myself getting annoyed and 'turned off' by the "I AM RIGHT, YOU ARE WRONG" mentality in other Christians, how much worse will that situation be for non-Christians to deal with?
Am I pointing the way to the Lord in my actions and speech? Or am I just another self righteous, egotistical, self serving "it's my way or the highway", "know it all" type Christian?

(I'm starting to get obese eating all this crow and humble pie)

Would anyone look at my egotistical, prideful attitude and say to themselves "I want to be like him?" Or "I want what he has."
Furthermore, if I announce myself as a believer in Christ (while I'm wearing my self righteous suit), would any non-believer I reach out to want to convert to what I define Christianity to be?

I believe this to be one of the biggest issues facing Christianity today and one of the biggest hinderances to the church in fulfilling HIS WILL.

MY RESOLUTION:
Walk in understanding, empathy, and humility regardless of my feelings or respect for the person.
In order to serve the Lord I MUST SERVE HIS INTERESTS, not my own.
My selfishness must end and HIS GLORY MUST BEGIN.

Christ led by the ultimate example of humility. A KING of KINGS, and LORD of LORDS chose to humble himself before us. A master became a servant. Not just to tell but to SHOW BY EXAMPLE.

I must follow HIS example.

MAT 10:24 The disciple is not above [his] master, nor the servant above his
lord.

Finally, if I must correct someone, I must do it in humility and with all love.

GAL 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual,
restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou
also be tempted.
GAL 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
GAL 6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he
deceiveth himself.
GAL 6:4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing
in himself alone, and not in another.
GAL 6:5 For every man shall bear his own burden.
GAL 6:6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in
all good things.
GAL 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that
shall he also reap.
GAL 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but
he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
GAL 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap,
if we faint not.
GAL 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all [men],
especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Let us all GLORIFY the FATHER and the SON in all of our actions and speech.

Let us all CARE for each other and LOVE each other AS HE LOVED US.

JOH 3:30 He must increase, but I [must] decrease.

Peace and love to all of you. May the Lord bless and keep you.

J

 

[tribesman]

Thanks for an excellent first post, which was in right timing indeed. Welcome to CC!

 

[FatnWeak]

This was really good, thanks. I enjoyed reading it. We must remember that we will all fall short of God's glory and our self righteousness is not good enough, in fact it stinks! We must strive to be like Christ and when we fall short of His standard, pray for His righteousness to cover us. Praise the Lord, God bless you.

 

[yoej_ogart]

This was great, and you're so on! Yes. I've been dealing with the same things and I found the same solution. And I know this isn't a Biblical way to speak but when it comes to this world, I definitely agree with it.. Ethos, Pathos, Logos..

I've found the cause of all that kinda talk from those impatient Christians to either come from irritation or just pure self-righteousness; they take the 'not of this world' thing too literally. My issue, was the irritation. The, "Why can't they see the truth?" or "Ugh, they're so blind" and I'd try to push the subjects that moment because their ignorance was annoying me. But I've learned that if the truth is spoken in the wrong time then it'll look like a lie..yuh know? Like, so many times God used others to speak to you and reveal to you something but because we weren't developed enough mentally(and spiritually) we denied it. We all have one of those times. I know I did.. So, when we finally come out of deception and have grown super tight with God and all that He is, it's like our glasses are clear! And because we can finally see, we are able to see what is and what was truly going on. And watching that person live is totally like we're watching a movie! Yuh know when you watch a horror movie, that blonde is about to walk into a room and we're like, "No! Don't go in there!" or when someone hears a sound and is like, "Hello?" as if the bad guy is gonna be like, "Oh hey, I'm in the kitchen. Want a sandwich?" haha. Just really blind things like that, but because it's a movie(their own life; not our place) we can't do much about it but pray and when asked, answer, like you said, humbly and in love!! But of course, reacting His way, to what I'd like to call "challenging" folks, isn't always easy.. unless, we ourselves have found who we are in Him(Aka, being honest to Jesus and ourselves, making the effort, being open, trusting others more than ourselves, and most importantly, wanting it..) that way, we know the bottom line and are truly ok with that! Which is, THEY'RE NOT OUR PROBLEM. Yes, the most important person infront of you(no, not literally the person in front of you; wherever you go) the person and/or people that God had put in your life. You know who they are.. So yes, we are to water or plant seeds and be a friend like Jesus would be to the ones God has placed in our lives but, it is not our job to capture their heart or bring them to self-actualization. That's Jesus! He is to pull them in. So who are we to step in and not trust God enough with them? Yes, we are Christians so we have to walk the walk and talk the talk(by and in His name only) but that's just not our place. I don't care who it is. If they annoy you or concern you greatly then pray! And really, with all your might, surrender them into His hands. Just like how he said to lay your worries in His hands, surrender your closest ones, relatives, friends, whoever, in His hands.. I mean, don't we think that Jesus can capture their hearts as well as ours? None of us are better or lesser, so according to His plan in each of their lives, eventually they'll come out of deception just like us. We just gotta believe.

If you think about it, a lot of that, in both lives, have deep pride and selfish issues in many ways. But I do believe that that is the deal with Christians like that. Unless they, like I said, are just self-righteous guys who take the 'not of this world' too far. Which again, comes from pride and/or selfishness!

Wow, sorry I talked a lot. This is just a big thing to me about Christians these days.

 

[AnandaHya]

thanks JS, welcome to CC.

 

[Red33]

There is an atmosphere in this world system we live in that is filled and charged with iniquity. Iniquity is any thought, imagination and deed that goes against the knowledge of God. This mystery of iniquity that is operational in our world system effects our capacity to love others, to minister grace and lay our life down. It effects believers in how they receive the word of God and how it is transferred from the mind to the heart. It effects how the believer grows in grace and knowledge of Christ. The purpose of this iniquity, being intensified in these last days, is to stop believers from having fellowship with one another and from revealing a corporate Christ in the body, the church.

Christ is the head of the body, it is one body with many members. When believers are operating in the unity of faith, having the same mind toward one another, Jesus Christ is revealed as a corporate Christ. Christ is revealed not through just one or two that have the mind of Christ but through many as a corporate body and as a functional living organism that makes up the body, flesh and bones of Christ. The principle is that two are better than one, a three fold cord cannot be broken, five will chase a hundred and a hundred will send ten thousand to flight.

God needs a corporate body of like minded believers that live by every word of God and are filled with the Spirit to invade this world system of iniquity with an outpouring of the word that will set the captives free, bind up the brokenhearted, set at liberty them that are bruised, heal the sick, restore the sight of the blind and win the lost in all the world. This can only be done in the power of God through a corporate body that reveals a corporate Christ with power through the Spirit without the flesh. As Jesus was sent here to reveal the Father, we have been called by Jesus Christ to be His corporate body and reveal His life as rivers of living water so that those who thirst can drink freely.

 

[shroom2]

Good post, Red!

 

[yoej_ogart]

yeah, good post Red! Right on