|
|
The "Path" in "Sympathy"
It
was Adam and Eve who physically ate the fruit of the "Tree of
Knowledge." But have we ever "digested" that fruit and/or that
knowledge? There are some of us that suffer in vain, clueless about the
troubles we've been inadvertently putting ourselves in! Many of our
eyes have never truly been "opened" like
Adam's. And so we suffer in life as constantly as we breath, but never
diagnose it, with our (possibly) digested knowledge. Our situations are
never self-discerned!
To repair this, I suggest a passage in
Proverbs 4:7. Perhaps one of the most knowledge-generating
instructions, it reads "in all you're acquiring, acquire
understanding." It's a must for the goal of better living. We must
evaluate our present, biblically, to avoid cloning it in the future.
But the victory is stalled what we do not. And this could lead us to
all kinds of detrimental routes. The major one being
never-ending sympathy.
I
can remember this happening to myself, as well as many other people
today. I'm talking about people inadvertently switching from an
overcomer through Christ, to a contestant in a sympathy contest.
Instead of collecting knowledge and wisdom, some consistently collect
tears and the pity of others. It's understandable how we loose focus,
because the fruits often feel the same. They are both in the house of
the mourning (Ecclesiastics 7:4), they both call for compassion and
attention, and they both receive comfort. (Whether it's from God or man
is up to you.) But making a switch like this could leave us religiously
lost, and far away from the true God-given power you have in your
personal situations. So to evaluate your current status, I've have come
up with a sure fire test. I call it: examining the path inside your
sym"path"y.
Ask yourself this one simple question:
"Is what I'm going through a "fruit" or a "seed?"
Ask
yourself if what you're suffering from is more a result, or a secret
goal in your heart. There are some people who just happen to suffer,
simply in the name of Christ (fruit), but then there are many who are
more of a self-promoter of their sufferings, with a secret goal to
consistently collect sympathy (seed.)
Stable depression and
insanity have never been synonymous with the Kingdom of God (Romans
8:35). In fact, the Bible says be of good cheer (John 16:33), and be
angry but do not sin (Ephesians 4:26). In proverbs: A righteous man
falls seven times but 'rises' again." (24:16).
If we fall into
these spiritual snares and decide to stay there, we adopt a slothful
and selfish mindset; An existence completely unprofitable to anyone
else. We're here to spread the gospel, not amplify our tears. We need
to trade our cares in for God's strengths and get back in the game!
In
Proverbs 25:2, it explains that it is God's glory to overlook a matter.
And it is a 'kings' glory to 'search' it out." Who are the kings?
They're us! The meek, gentle, God-fearing christians with earthly
inheritance (Matthew 5:5).
Another journey into Matthew 5:10-11
reads "Blessed are you when you are persecuted and reviled on account
of Me." It doesn't say "Blessed are you on account of not maturing in
the Word (Hebrew 5:12-14) or for not being understood." There's a big
difference between being helpless and being (religiously) blind. And
it's our responsibility to ask ourselves: Who are we really? (Not God's)
If
you cheat on your taxes (seed) and the government penalizes you
(fruit), that's not the devil! That's simple (and self-made) cause and
effect. Remember Mark 12:15-17? If your everyday tongue (seed) provokes
people to anger, and you reap their anger, that's not "fighting the
good fight!" That's the "fruit" of an unrestrained tongue and/or bad
judgement.
Now don't get me wrong. It is possible to suffer
through no fault of your own. But we must diagnose our status, before
we throw up our hands. I have went through unreasonably hard times many
wouldn't believe (seedless fruit). But I'm careful to keep those things
my background and not my presentation.
We must be careful how we
walk (Ephesians 5:15), prudent in our path (Proverbs 27:12), and wise
in our perception (Ecclesiastics 7:19). By practicing righteousness
instead of just practicing (vain) endurance, we'll become aware of what
our problems are in need of. It's not always a miracle! Most of the
time, we only need to change our "path" inside of our sypathy.
Thank you for hearing me, and God bless each and every one of you
|
| B-I-B-L-E |  |
|
