A
thought by Craig Groeschel (2015-10-27) from his book, #Struggles: Following Jesus in a Selfie-Centered World (p. 211).
Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to
buy the book.)
Craig, says,
“Follow enough people, and it won’t take long: someone will say or show
something inappropriate or offensive. If you’re like most people, you find it
easy to get up in arms and take offense. As Christians, though, we can rise
above the temptation to get down in the dirt. Solomon says, ‘A person’s wisdom
yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook
an offense’ (Prov. 19: 11, emphasis added).”
He then
says, “In our culture, many people are quick to judge, quick to call a foul,
and quick to be offended. But even though they may be quick to get upset,
they’re slow to show grace by overlooking offenses. God’s Word teaches us to be
different from the world. It’s to our glory to overlook an offense.”
I love how
Peter starts his second letter to the persecuted Christians. He says, “May God give you more and more grace and peace
as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus Christ.” More and more grace.
Craig
continues, “To be clear, overlooking an offense isn’t the same as pretending it
didn’t happen or encouraging injustice. No, to overlook something is a decision
to let it go. It’s a form of forgiveness. The Hebrew word translated overlook
also means ‘to pass over.’ You can look at what can hurt you and spiritually
soar right on by it. If people say something harsh or sharp, instead of puffing
up and striking back, allow God’s Spirit to help you give them the benefit of
the doubt. Chances are their bad mood isn’t about you, and their critical
spirit probably isn’t against you as much as it’s a reflection of something
they’re dealing with. That someone is constantly angry or harsh is often a sign
they’re hurting. Why? Because hurting people hurt people. Rather than taking an
offense, you should take them to prayer and ask God to help them.”
He then
finishes this section by saying, “If a post starts to grieve your heart or make
you unrighteously angry, remember that you don’t have to follow the poster. You
can to some degree control what you see and read. No matter what, remember that
just as Jesus taught us to turn the other cheek when someone strikes us, so we
can turn a virtual other cheek to posts that offend us. Life is too short to
allow someone else’s bad attitude to pollute our heart and relationships.”
Don’t you
see how this would bring Him glory, or another way to say it, make Him look
good?
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