Author Topic: Christ's Ways (Read 11031 times)

Olde Tymer · « **Reply #13 on:** February 02, 2019, 09:10:34 pm »

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Rom 12:8d . . If you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

That would probably correspond to incidents like the one depicted in the parable of the man attacked by road agents in Luke 10:30-36. In that instance, a passerby had the skills and the wherewithal to provide care for a total stranger in need.

Personally, I'm not much at first aid and/or emergency medical services. But what we're getting at here is that should you find yourself in circumstances where you can be of genuine, effective assistance; don't lend a hand grudging. It ought to make Christians happy to be of assistance instead of getting irritated and grumpy about an unexpected inconvenience.

A solo Pacific Crest Trail hiker named Cheryl Strayed, in her book WILD, recounts an evening wherein she was very low on funds and having no luck locating a suitable place in the woods to set up her tent before it got really dark. Cheryl found her way into a fee campground and set up at the extreme end of the facility where she thought no one would mind; but later that night the caretakers came by and, in a not-so-friendly tone, insisted that she either pay the $12 fee or break camp and leave.

The "Christian" thing to do would have been to pay the fee for her instead of forcing a woman to wander out into the pitch black forest all alone at night.

NOTE: The law is the law and rules are rules, that's true but according to Jesus' teachings; there are instances when human need-- e.g. health, safety, and welfare --come first. His hard-hearted, strictly by-the-book religious opponents just couldn't get that through their thick skulls. (cf. Ex 1:15-21)
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Olde Tymer · « **Reply #14 on:** February 03, 2019, 08:55:09 pm »

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Rom 12:9a . . Don't just pretend that you love others.

Webster's defines "pretense" as fiction, make-believe, and/or simulation. Ironically, pretense is foundational to ordinary civility and common courtesy. But when it comes to love; Christians should never put on a front. In other words: don't lead someone on to believe you care about them when in reality you don't. That's not only dishonest; it's cruel.

I once asked a rather incompetent Sunday school teacher, in so many words, whether feelings play a role in Christianity. He said that feelings are emotions and therefore insignificant. Well; I have to disagree.

"Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies" (Col 3:12)

The koiné Greek word for "bowels" in that passage is splagchnon (splangkh'-non) which basically refers to one's intestines; i.e. the tummy; which says to me that bowels of mercies are emotions rather than just good manners.

In other words: real love isn't a non emotional academic concept; it contains things like pity, sympathy, empathy, compassion, thoughtfulness, and sensitivity. Real love is easily mimicked, but not all that easy to feel; especially by people who, by nature, are more monster than human.
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guest8 · « **Reply #15 on:** February 04, 2019, 12:18:44 am »

Quote from: Olde Tymer on February 03, 2019, 08:55:09 pm

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Rom 12:9a . . Don't just pretend that you love others.

Webster's defines "pretense" as fiction, make-believe, and/or simulation. Ironically, pretense is foundational to ordinary civility and common courtesy. But when it comes to love; Christians should never put on a front. In other words: don't lead someone on to believe you care about them when in reality you don't. That's not only dishonest; it's cruel.

I once asked a rather incompetent Sunday school teacher, in so many words, whether feelings play a role in Christianity. He said that feelings are emotions and therefore insignificant. Well; I have to disagree.

"Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies" (Col 3:12)

The koiné Greek word for "bowels" in that passage is splagchnon (splangkh'-non) which basically refers to one's intestines; i.e. the tummy; which says to me that bowels of mercies are emotions rather than just good manners.

In other words: real love isn't a non emotional academic concept; it contains things like pity, sympathy, empathy, compassion, thoughtfulness, and sensitivity. Real love is easily mimicked, but not all that easy to feel; especially by people who, by nature, are more monster than human.
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Hi Old Timer...You finally put an OPED out that I can agree with.

Blade

Olde Tymer · « **Reply #16 on:** February 04, 2019, 08:28:00 pm »

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Rom 12:9b . . Hate what is evil.

Hating evil is second nature to God-fearing people; or at least it should be.

"You who love The Lord; hate evil." (Ps 97:10)

"In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil." (Job 1:1)

"The fear of The Lord is to hate evil. Pride and arrogance and the evil way, and the perverted mouth, I hate." (Prov 8:13)

I think it's fair to say that when somebody hates the same things that God hates, and loves the same things that God loves; the two of them have the makings of a rapport: defined by Webster's as a friendly, harmonious relationship-- especially a relationship characterized by agreement, mutual understanding, or empathy that makes communication possible or easy.
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guest8 · « **Reply #17 on:** February 05, 2019, 10:53:47 am »

Quote from: Olde Tymer on February 04, 2019, 08:28:00 pm

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Rom 12:9b . . Hate what is evil.

Hating evil is second nature to God-fearing people; or at least it should be.

"You who love The Lord; hate evil." (Ps 97:10)

"In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil." (Job 1:1)

"The fear of The Lord is to hate evil. Pride and arrogance and the evil way, and the perverted mouth, I hate." (Prov 8:13)

I think it's fair to say that when somebody hates the same things that God hates, and loves the same things that God loves; the two of them have the makings of a rapport: defined by Webster's as a friendly, harmonious relationship-- especially a relationship characterized by agreement, mutual understanding, or empathy that makes communication possible or easy.
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I believe I would call it something else beside a harmonious relationship.

LOVE

Blade

Olde Tymer · « **Reply #18 on:** February 05, 2019, 09:39:31 pm »

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Rom 12:9c . . Cling to what is good.

The Greek word translated "good" is agathos (ag-ath-os') which refers to good in just about every sense imaginable, e.g. beneficial, fitting, suitable, acceptable, adequate, all right, alright, creditable, decent, fine, useful, commendable, nice, OK (or okay), passable, respectable, satisfactory, serviceable, sufficient, well-- everything from doing good, tasting good, looking good, to sounding good, etc.

Christian CEOs on the boards of multi-national corporations have my sympathy. Good luck complying with Rom 12:9c.

I recently watched a very interesting documentary on NetFlix that analyzed corporations; and they found that corporations, as a personality, typically exhibit all five of the psychopathic behaviors listed below.

• Callous unconcern for the feelings of others.

• Incapacity to maintain enduring relationships.

• Reckless disregard for the safety of others.

• Deceit and dissembling; viz: repeated lying, suppressing information, stretching the truth, and conning others for profit.

• Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors.

One of corporate America's more shameful management practices is the exploitation of foreign poverty, cheap labor, defenseless employees, minimal safety requirements, and hardly any environmental regulations in order to keep costs down and the bottom lines of quarterly reports up. It's all about profits with corporations; while the human suffering exploited to obtain them is collateral damage, so to speak; and nowhere has that been more prevalent than the manufacture of textiles and garments.

One of corporate America's more shameful management practices is the exploitation of foreign poverty, cheap labor, defenseless employees, minimal safety requirements, and hardly any environmental regulations in order to keep costs down and the bottom lines of quarterly reports up. It's all about profits with corporations; and nowhere has that been more prevalent than the manufacture of textiles and garments.
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guest8 · « **Reply #19 on:** February 05, 2019, 10:41:56 pm »

Quote from: Olde Tymer on February 05, 2019, 09:39:31 pm

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Rom 12:9c . . Cling to what is good.

The Greek word translated "good" is agathos (ag-ath-os') which refers to good in just about every sense imaginable, e.g. beneficial, fitting, suitable, acceptable, adequate, all right, alright, creditable, decent, fine, useful, commendable, nice, OK (or okay), passable, respectable, satisfactory, serviceable, sufficient, well-- everything from doing good, tasting good, looking good, to sounding good, etc.

Christian CEOs on the boards of multi-national corporations have my sympathy. Good luck complying with Rom 12:9c.

I recently watched a very interesting documentary on NetFlix that analyzed corporations; and they found that corporations, as a personality, typically exhibit all five of the psychopathic behaviors listed below.

• Callous unconcern for the feelings of others.

• Incapacity to maintain enduring relationships.

• Reckless disregard for the safety of others.

• Deceit and dissembling; viz: repeated lying, suppressing information, stretching the truth, and conning others for profit.

• Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors.

One of corporate America's more shameful management practices is the exploitation of foreign poverty, cheap labor, defenseless employees, minimal safety requirements, and hardly any environmental regulations in order to keep costs down and the bottom lines of quarterly reports up. It's all about profits with corporations; while the human suffering exploited to obtain them is collateral damage, so to speak; and nowhere has that been more prevalent than the manufacture of textiles and garments.

One of corporate America's more shameful management practices is the exploitation of foreign poverty, cheap labor, defenseless employees, minimal safety requirements, and hardly any environmental regulations in order to keep costs down and the bottom lines of quarterly reports up. It's all about profits with corporations; and nowhere has that been more prevalent than the manufacture of textiles and garments.
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God will not judge nor will He give salvation to the Corporations. This is part of the problem with churches today. The building as a whole is held responsible for everything instead of the individuals inside.

Blade

Olde Tymer · « **Reply #20 on:** February 06, 2019, 08:28:23 pm »

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Rom 12:10a . . Love each other with genuine affection

Real affection is easy to imitate, but not so easy to duplicate. Going through the motions is just not the same as feeling the feelings.

There are people in this world who are affection-challenged. They can't even feel anything for their own children, let alone other people. For them, parenting is a nightmare rather than a dream come true. Their children are a burden rather than a blessing. Children ruin those parents' lives instead of brightening them up and making their lives more worth the living.

When affection-challenged people decide to follow Christ, they're up against it because Christianity is a faith that works by love rather than by law.

Though someone were to comply with every rule that I've listed thus far and yet be affection-challenged, they're as Paul described in his first epistle to the Corinthians as resounding gongs and clanging cymbals. Those are percussion instruments; they don't carry a tune or a melody; they just make noise.

However, affection-challenged people aren't entirely hopeless because Christianity isn't a do-it-yourself religion; it's a supernatural religion.

"If the spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His spirit, who lives in you." ( Rom 8:11)

Some might argue that verse is talking about the future. Well; their argument is okay as far as it goes, but doesn't go far enough. It's futile to resurrect a mortal body because it would be still be mortal; i.e. vulnerable to disease, aging, and death. No, the "life" that Rom 8:11 is talking about is a benefit package defined as the fruit of the Spirit; spoken of in Gal 5:19-25. One of the benefits in that package is love.

A heads up to affection-challenged people: The fruit of the Spirit comes with some negative side effects. Though its love will make you a better human being, it will also make you pretty miserable at times too because love gets into your heart and makes you sensitive, compassionate, and empathetic. If you've never felt those kinds of feelings before, then they would be overwhelming were they to come upon you in full power. Fortunately the fruit of the Spirit doesn't come on people all at once; instead, love sort of grows on people a little at a time; sort of like gradually bringing a frog up to the boiling point by starting him out in cold water.

Of course the process is lethal to the frog; but I'm only using the doomed amphibian as an analogy rather than a reality. The fruit of the Spirit is life rather than death. So the fruit gradually brings people up from a cold dead heart to a warm living heart.
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Olde Tymer · « **Reply #21 on:** February 07, 2019, 08:44:56 pm »

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Rom 12:10b . . Honor others over yourselves.

Christians infected with narcissistic personality disorder will find that rule difficult, if not impossible, to obey. It's a mental condition characterized by a grandiose sense of self-importance, a need for excessive admiration, exploitive behavior in relationships, and a lack of empathy.

Narcissistic people are by nature insufferably arrogant, self-absorbed, indifferent, and insensitive. They see nothing wrong with their behavior, nor are they attuned to its impact on others. Were you to confront narcissistic folk with your concerns about their attitude; be prepared for a counterattack because they'll no doubt become indignant and defensive; possibly accusing you of selfishness, jealousy, overreaction, hysteria, and unloving behavior. You see; they're never the problem: you are.

As I was watching a recent series on the National Geographic channel about geniuses; it became readily apparent to me that people in the genius category crave recognition. Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso are two very good examples. Their contributions to art and science were secondary to their ambitions for greatness. I wouldn't say that all geniuses are like that of course, but apparently the desire for greatness is not uncommon among them.

I should think that most alpha achievers would have trouble complying Rom 12:10b too. I mean. why be a winner if not to feel superior to everyone else? The alpha achiever's motto is: It's not enough to succeed: everyone else must fail.

Feelings of value are important to everyone's sense of well being, but the alpha achiever feels only himself to be of any real value; in his mind's eye, those "below" him are of little worth, i.e. expendable and/or a dime a dozen. (cf. Est 6:6, Matt 27:26, Mark 12:38 39, and 3John 1:9)
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Olde Tymer · « **Reply #22 on:** February 08, 2019, 09:59:51 pm »

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Rom 12:11a . . Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit

The koiné Greek word for "slothful" is okneros (ok-nay-ros') which, according to its use in Matt 25:26-27, indicates failure to honor one's fiduciary responsibilities.

In other words: when people have put their trust in you, in whatever capacity or circumstance: do not disappoint them, nor (God forbid) make lame excuses for failing to deliver on your commitments.

"fervent in spirit" sort of means on fire-- i.e. highly motivated --which is just the opposite of half-hearted, lukewarm, and/or procrastinating.

A touching example of the kind of reliability I'm talking about is Boaz. He made a promise to Ruth that goes like this:

"And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I. Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as The Lord liveth." (Ruth 3:11-13)

That man must've had a reputation in Bethlehem as someone you could believe because here's Naomi's response upon hearing all about Ruth's midnight experience.

"Then Naomi said: Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today." (Ruth 3:18)

And sure enough, Naomi knew what she was talking about: Boaz got right to it just as he promised.
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Olde Tymer · « **Reply #23 on:** February 10, 2019, 12:33:34 pm »

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Rom 12:12a . . Be glad for all God is planning for you.

Christians unsure of their afterlife destination cannot, in all honesty and a good conscience, comply with the above. For all they know, God has outer darkness planned for them. That's not something to be glad about.
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comingfrom · « **Reply #24 on:** February 11, 2019, 03:31:37 am »

Thank you Olde Tymer.

When Jesus Christ came He taught God's ways.
The New Testament hadn't been produced yet.
I believe you'll get a lopsided view, if you leave out God's word.

So let us have a look at the ways of Christ,
which Jesus and St Paul were talking about and teaching us.

Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way,
and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
Exodus 23:20

The Holy Spirit, which Jesus spoke of, shall keep us in the way.
Jesus said...

Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth:
John 16:13

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They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them:
they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto,
and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Exodus 32:8

A warning, that many turn out of the way, to go worship molten gods.
Jesus said...

And He said,
Take heed that ye be not deceived:
for many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ;
and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.
Luke 21:8

for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction,
and many there be which go in thereat:
Matthew 7:13

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Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you,
that ye may live,
and that it may be well with you,
and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.
Deuteronomy 5:33

God's commandments are His ways.
Jesus said...

And I know that His commandment is life everlasting:
John 12:50

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And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children,
and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house,
and when thou walkest by the way,
and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Deuteronomy 6:7

We shall teach the commandments when we are in the way.
Jesus said...

Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments,
and shall teach men so,
he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven:
but whosoever shall do and teach them,
the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:19

Bless Jesus.

Olde Tymer · « **Reply #25 on:** February 11, 2019, 03:55:48 pm »

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Rom 12:12b . . Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful.

Patience in trouble requires a hang-in-there, tough-it-out attitude; i.e. perseverance, which can be defined as continued effort to do, or achieve, something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition.

I've heard of people giving up on religion due to adverse circumstances which they felt were undeserving. But life goes on whether one is pious or not.

"Adversity that comes into your life is no different from what others experience." (1Cor 10:13)

"Man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward." (Job 5:7)

I guess some people figure that life should be a bed of roses for Christians; but alas, such is not the case.

"To be, or not to be, that is the question: whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them: to die, to sleep no more; and by a sleep, to say we end the heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to? 'Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished." (Hamlet. Act III, Scene I)

Wishing one's self dead in order to escape troubles doesn't comply with patience; and wishing one's self was never born is futile.

"Why didn't I die at birth as I came from the womb? Why did my mother let me live? Why did she nurse me at her breasts? For if I had died at birth, I would be at peace now, asleep and at rest." (Job 3:11-13)

A Christian buddy of mine died in his mid forties. Sometimes I envy his untimely death because he doesn't have to go through old age like I'm doing. I've had lots of troubles in my lifetime: the sudden passing of my favorite nephew, betrayed by people I thought were BFFs, dumped by girl friends, financial reversal, appendicitis, thyroid failure, total knee replacements, cataract surgery, loss of kidney function, loss of teeth, lay-offs, etc. None of those misfortunes have been as destructive to my peace of mind as the aging process.

Fortunately I'm not demented nor suffering from onset Alzheimer's, but nevertheless, I'm disintegrating, little by little and day by day; and there's no remedy. The aging process is like Arnold Swarzenegger's relentless movie character; the Terminator, of whom it is said: feels neither pain nor pity, nor remorse nor fear; it cannot be reasoned with nor can it be bargained with, and it absolutely will not stop-- ever --until you are dead.

I don't really mind getting old, nor mind dying: what I do mind is falling apart along the way. But others have fallen apart before me, others are falling apart along with me, and others will fall apart after me. My own personal Terminator is nothing new or unusual; so I'm riding it out like people in hurricane zones ride out the storms that come their way year after year. I don't know if anyone ever gets comfortable with the aging process; but at least they can take comfort in knowing we only have to go through it once.
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Author Topic: Christ's Ways (Read 11031 times)

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