I’m an introvert, one of those folks who can bump into a just-moved piece of furniture. Perhaps my most famous introvert moment was emerging from my office, still early in the day, after I’d been focused on a project, and walking right by two people without even seeing them. When I walked back with a cup of coffee, there they were! I was stunned. “Were you sitting there when I walked out of my office?” “Yep.” Oh, my.

What was the motive?

What was my motive?

Was I just an arrogant, unfeeling, uncaring person who walked by them without acknowledging them? Or, was I mad at them for some reason? Either was plausible.

Fortunately, they knew me, knew I was an introvert, and knew I was working on a deadline for a big project. On the way back, when I saw them, they shook their heads and chuckled at me.

The Bible sometimes goes behind an action or a statement and tells us the person’s motive.

The Jews were jealous. Acts 5:17; 17:5

The Jews were afraid. Luke 22:2

They wanted to be noticed. Matthew 23:5

Jesus knows everyone’s motives, of course. John 2:24-25

We usually don’t.

When we don’t know the motive

When someone walks by without acknowledging you, what do you think? Or suppose there is a mix up when you’re checking out of a store? Or someone cut you off in traffic? What do you think? What are their motives?

Do you automatically think the worst? He hates me. I must have done something terrible. He is incompetent. I bet she stole my stuff. She is a terrible driver. I wonder if he’s drunk.

Or do you consider other, more benign options? He must be thinking about something else. I wonder if something bad happened to him. She must be having a hard day. I wonder if that driver is trying to get to the hospital.

The first set of thoughts is likely to make you more upset. The second set of options helps you feel compassion.

And you do not know which is correct, if either.

Unless the person is someone you know and it is important for some reason to understand the action, (or you need to report them as a thief or dangerous driver) give them a pass. That’s the action that is healthiest for you, and most consistent with loving your neighbor, or loving your enemy.

You may have to ask

But if you need to know, you have to ask. Don’t make stuff up. Approach them with love, and ask.

I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)

We are Responsible

Did I do something good? Yes. No, not me.

Did God accomplish it? Yes.

Last week I talked about our decision to walk right in these troubled times (See Dismayed in these Difficult Times?) The Lord, Sovereign God, chose us to be born when we were and to be alive now. He chose us to go through these difficulties.

When I have fearful thoughts of hard times, sometimes it is because I focus on what I might face, what I might have to do, and forget that I can—must—rely on Him.

For nothing will be impossible with God. (Luke 1:37)

We Must Work Hard

Paul made it clear that he worked hard to fulfill the ministry God gave him.

I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)

In the present, work hard at whatever tasks the Lord gives you. Right now decide that you will work hard in the future. We are responsible for what we do.

And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. (Mark 8:34)

We have decided (if you haven’t thought this through, please do) to follow Him regardless of the apparent cost. We’ve decided to honor Him through persecution, through hard times, through whatever.

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. (1 Corinthians 9:24)

Work as hard as you can, but give God all the glory. Do your very best.

Yet not I, but God

At the same time, don’t fear that you are alone and without help.

As hard as Paul worked, he knew it was the Lord. “Yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”

After he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. (Acts 21:19)

Do not Fear

When I’m dismayed about current events and the evil possibilities ahead, I too often fear, even though I’m commanded not to fear. I think my fear comes from knowing I am responsible and how weak I am. I am so afraid I will fail the Lord.

Paul says when he is weak, then he is strong. Huh?

He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10)

I must work hard, and remember that it is God’s power that works in me. I’m not going to face this alone, Christ is with me.

For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me. (Colossians 1:29)

Now do it.

How?

1. Keep your decision top-of-mind. When you see a choice, remember your decision and do the will of God.
2. Work hard. This won’t be easy, so continually work hard.
3. But, thank God, while we have the responsibility to work hard, it is God within us who will make it happen. God acts through us. We are to labor hard and rely on God to accomplish the work.
4. Learn to turn in reliance towards Him. It is His power, not mine, not yours, that produces the result.

Lord!

Lord, please make my choices clear. Please help me see when I have a choice of doing Your will or doing my own. Please help me always choose to follow You. Please help me look past the apparent consequences to Your will, Your pleasure, Your reward.

And help me know how weak I am, and how powerful You are. Remind me that whatever is accomplished through me is because of You, not me.

Help me turn in humility to You, relying on You to accomplish the results You want.

Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant. (2 Corinthians 3:4–6)

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us. (Ephesians 3:20)

Almighty God

Almighty God is sovereign over everything and everybody all the time. He is infinitely knowledgeable, infinitely wise, infinitely powerful. He is totally other than we are.

Isaiah said:

In the year of King Uzziah’s death I [Isaiah] saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. (Isaiah 6:1–5)

We dare not minimize who He is or what He can do. His holiness is beyond our understanding; His hatred of sin more than we can fathom.

Yet! For those of us who have repented of our sins, believe Jesus Christ is God, the Son of God, and have received Christ as our Lord and Savior, Almighty God is our Father. (See Becoming a Child of God.)

Our Father

We, His children, have been chosen by Him, adopted into His family, and declared righteous. He has sealed us with His Holy Spirit, securing us for eternity when we’ll be holy and blameless before Him. Right now, He is at work in us, making us into the image of His Son. He is always with us, and never forgets us. He is always merciful, always comforting.

We are guaranteed access to Him, privileged to go before Him (Almighty God!) with boldness and confidence. He is our Father, after all.

Praise Our Father

Father, I praise You for choosing to bring me, and many others, into Your family. Because of Your love, You gave me, and all Your children, a special, eternal, love relationship with You. Because of Your love and mercy, You oversee my life, promising to bring good out of whatever happens. I praise You as my Father, infinitely wise and loving toward me. I am so grateful You are always with me, that You promise to never leave me. I cannot understand the magnitude of the awesome privileges You have granted me, but Father, I praise You.

Folklore: You are the window through which you view the world. Your traits, positive and negative, color what you see. If you are hopeful, you tend to look for “silver linings.” If you’re critical, you tend to look for what is wrong. If you habitually lie, you tend to see others are liars. If you are trusting, you tend to see others as trust-worthy.

“Best keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you see the world.” ~ George Bernard Shaw

“The window through which we view the world is obscured by our own reflection.” ~ Mark Greenman

There is truth here. As we grow in Christ, as we mature in the fruits of the Spirit, we see the world differently.

As Christians, our big challenge is to view the world through the Word of God, seeing and interpreting reality through God’s Word.

“And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?”” (Luke 10:25–26)

“Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God?”” (Mark 12:24)

Our task is to continually ask ourselves: “What does God say about that?” “What is written in His Word?”

The better we know the Word of God, the more accurate our interpretation of the world. We’ll increasingly have His wisdom about events and situations.

Rather than trusting in your own heart, choose to believe Him.

What to Do

1. Systematically, regularly, study the Bible. Devotional reading is great, but in-depth study is imperative.
2. Routinely think about the Word, what you’ve read, what you’ve studied, what God means, and how it applies to your life.
3. Continually compare your thoughts to the Word. If there is a conflict, choose to believe the Word of God.

I blew it!

Uh-oh.

Now what?

There really are only three choices: 1) Deal it with it; 2) Try to ignore it; 3) Endlessly beat up yourself.

Trying to ignore it most likely won’t work.

Endlessly beating up yourself just results in crippling yourself and making you less able to deal with the present. And, if you hurt others, leaves them in a mess as well.

How do you deal with errors of the past?

1) Ask God to help you assess the problem.

2) Where you were wrong, confess and mourn your sin.

3) Repent—change your mind—about that behavior and determine to do things differently the next time. Determine not to repeat your mistake, your sin.

4) Learn. Numbers 1 – 3 require you to learn from your mistake. What were the underpinnings that caused your behavior? Seek healing. Determine to reject the old way of looking at and reacting to events.

5) Ask God to help you see whom you hurt.

6) Confess your error to those you hurt, and ask forgiveness.

7) In so far as possible, make things right.

8) Press on

Press On

If you do Numbers 1 -7, the past is fixed…sort of. We can’t change what happened, but we can change how the past affects the present and the future.

Paul said he forgot what lies behind and reached for what lies ahead, and pressed on…

I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12–14)

The Present

Appropriately, with God’s wisdom and help, dealing with the past informs and improves the future.

I haven’t talked about the future in this post, but our views of the future also impact the present. Our goal is:

Live in the present, in the light of the future, having learned from the past.

See Also: How To Move On, If Only, and Self-Condemnation: Good or Bad

The Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst. (Ezekiel 9:4)

Those who hated what God hated were spared. Those who didn’t were slain.

It’s Sin Not to Hate What God Hates

God recently convicted me of sin: I don’t mourn about all the abominations being committed in the USA, let alone the world, all the time. Worse, I sigh and groan more about some things than others. I’ve added the sin of James 2:1-4 to my offense.

“My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?” (James 2:1–4)

I am in anguish over the problems in my beloved country. We are divided. There is so much violence. Unjust actions abound. Murders, violence of all sorts. Just and unjust accusations, condemnations, protests, and activism.

Questions

There are at least two questions for me, and, perhaps, for you.

First,

Do I hate what God hates? Do I sigh and groan over all the abominations being committed? Or do I give some sins a pass?

Second,

Do I display any personal favoritism when I do—or don’t—mourn over sin?

Suppose–just suppose–someone from my political persuasion lied? Am I as offended as I would be if the opposition party lied?

Suppose a tragic, unjust event, affected another culture, or another race, or another faith than my own, do I mourn as much as I would if it were against my own race, or culture, or faith?

Think it over.

Let us have the heart of God as we observe the darkness of the times.

Burning indignation has seized me because of the wicked, who forsake Your law. (Psalm 119:53)

My eyes shed streams of water, because they do not keep Your law. (Psalm 119:136)

He has sealed His children

We, believers in Christ Jesus, have been sealed.

Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. (2 Corinthians 1:21–22)

Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.” (2 Timothy 2:19)

Help, Lord!

Lord, help us hate what You hate. Help us stand for You in the midst of these troubled times, reflecting Your love and Your holiness to those around.

We are told to love.

Love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. (Mark 12:30)

Love our enemies. (Matthew 5:44)

Love our neighbors as ourselves. (Mark 12:31)

Love fellow believers, just as Christ has loved us. (John 15:12)

These are high standards.

Many, many Bible verses, sermons, and books discuss love. These may provide helpful details, but at the core, we need to think about:

1. Deciding to love.
2. Acting in accordance with our love.

Love Decides

Love is an intentional decision, a commitment to God and others. It has a permanent, authentic ring, and is not whimsical or momentary. The decision to love is fundamental. It is a choice.

Love Acts

The Bible links love with action.

In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the prophets. (Matthew 7:12)

While we have the opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially those who are of the household of the faith. (Galatians 6:10)

Unless there are loving actions, it is impossible to detect someone’s love.

Love Feels

There are emotions associated with love. While we cannot force ourselves to feel giddy with love, at the same time, God commands emotions: rejoice, for example.

The decision to love is independent of feelings…you aren’t apt to love your enemy because of your warm emotions towards him or her, for example. But we are commanded to love our enemies.

And acting out of love doesn’t require emotions of love either. In fact, you may express your love most deeply when positive feelings are absent.

The phrase: “falling out of love,” generally means the feelings of romantic love are gone. Too often, a marriage fails because the couple relied on emotions rather than the decision, the commitment, to love each other.

How do we measure up?

Have we decided to love God? Our enemies? Our neighbors? Fellow believers? Is the decision final? Or contingent on some behavior of others?

Do we act on our love towards God? Our enemies? Our neighbors? Fellow believers? What have we done in the last few weeks? Do we have plans for the future that will express our love?

Pray

Pray for the Lord to show you where you have and have not made correct decisions to love.

Pray that He will show you how to act in love, and to whom.

Pray that He will give you the correct feelings to support and reinforce your decisions and actions.