“Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.” Colossians 4:5-6.
I am saddened when I see the hatred showing itself in the United States as well as other locations around the world. When listening to news coverage, much of what I hear is vitriol regarding who they believe is responsible. It must be understood we have limited information regarding these incidents. However, in today’s culture, what matters in the minds of most news agencies, political groups or politicians is what gives them the upper hand.
We as Christians must be careful regarding our own thinking. If we do not absolutely know the reason for what happens, we need to keep quiet and not let our imaginations determine a cause. There are too many people who let their feelings color their conclusions. We must understand our assumptions are not necessarily truth. I am not saying we should lesson the outcome, for one injury or death is a terrible thing. What I am pointing out is by assuming anything based upon presuppositions can result in victims aside from the ones actually hurt. Let me give an example.
A man is seen walking a three year old girl into a restaurant. She did not look happy as he held her hand going into the establishment. The man looked rough in terms of the way he is dressed along with the various tattoos on his arms and face. Also, there are a few bruises on the little girl. Some may assume that the man had beat his daughter which would explain the bruises as well as the sad look on her face.
However, what might actually have happened was she had chased their puppy while playing with it, and she accidentally fell down a few steps. Her father had immediately taken her to the doctor, wearing the clothes he wore while doing work outside. She was unhappy because she was in pain, and he was hoping a nice dessert would cheer her up. I use this as an example because I have heard people assuming the worst was true when in reality it was not. What if they started spreading this assumption around, gossiping about him? Who knows what injuries could happen to this man’s good name.
As Christians, we must be sure our language is always covered with grace. We must be careful not to spread gossip, or anything negative about anyone. We must always think about how Jesus would have handled this if he was there. We are called to conduct ourselves with wisdom, uprightness and honesty. We must deal with everyone, whether they are Christians or not, with the strictest of integrity. If we have the opportunity to converse with someone who did terrible things, we should always show our love to them without including what they did. We should always look for ways to either plant seeds, water crops, or harvest fruit. And if they are truly saved, encourage them and assist in their Christian growth.
When we hear of something terrible happening, we should begin praying for the victims as well as the perpetrators. We must not make any assumptions as to the who’s, what’s and whys but always think of them as ones made in the image of God. We must never place blame on someone who had nothing to do with what happened, even though it makes you look good and others more evil. As an example, saying that those who are not in line with your Christian or political beliefs are racist or dumb, having helped make what has happened occur. Our dealings with everyone should be with wisdom, grace, integrity and love. For the Christian, this will encourage others and let them know they are loved. That if they did do wrong, God still loves them and you are there to help them through it, and if they did not do wrong, you will be by their side praying that the truth will be made known. And for the non-Christian, along with the previous sentence, may give us the opportunity to speak into their lives with the gospel of Jesus Christ. As was said many years ago, “God loves the sinner but hates the sin.”
I absolutely hate what is happening today. Mass shootings are killing and injuring many, however, we must never forget the collateral damage that may be caused by faulty presuppositions or outright lies. Remember what Jesus said,
“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.
We would not want our good name destroyed by a false conclusion. Therefore, we should not do it to anyone else. We are to love everyone as God loves them.
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:7-8.
And,
“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Matthew 5:44.
And lastly,
“And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.’” Luke 14:23 Each of these verses deal with a different group but combining all three show that we are to love absolutely everyone. The first group are the saved; our brothers and sisters in Christ, the second are our enemies, and the third are the unsaved. We are to love everyone, not just in words or to build ourselves up, but in reality. We must treat everyone as if we love them because we do love them. And when we do, this opens the door to incredible ministry opportunities to all as we serve the true, loving and living God.
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