When God Answers

Part of growing up in Christ is overcoming one hindrance to being more Christlike after another...and another....

Well, I overcame the hindrance of being shy about sharing my faith and sharing the Good News. I have become very outspoken about it--not just to my friends that I know are Christians, but to those that I know are not Christians also. It's a big hurdle that I jumped, and it has made me a lot more solid in what I believe and a lot more knowledgeable about what I believe. Lots of praise to the Big Guy.

BUT in the process of become more outspoken, I have become self-righteous. Jesus had the harshest words for those that were self-righteous. Me being self-righteous means that I am not loving the people around me. I am so eager to tell everyone that Jesus is right and that they are not living right, that I have bypassed one of Jesus' biggest commandments: Love your neighbor. So I went to God, and prayed about it--I was so ashamed that all along I thought that I had become more Christlike, that I had come just an inch closer to the goal, when really, I slid a full 2 feet back.

God answered with one word: Objectivity. What a random word, I know, but it applies to well to me. Objectivity is defined as "the state or quality of being objective (uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices)." Just think, if we left behind all our personal prejudices, then we could really do some loving of our neighbors. It's hard to be self-righteous when you leave all your personal prejudices.

Jesus said, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35

Jordan M