And I am so awful at forgetting that everyone else sucks just as badly as me. And I forget that everyone else hurts just as deeply as me. I'm so wrapped up in my stupid, trivial life that I don't leave room to love other people in the midst of their mess. Recently, the Lord has laid a big chunk of the book of Ephesians on my heart:
"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." (4:22-32)
I always love when a "therefore" comes my way, because it means I've got to get my act together in about 1-2 verses. It's kind of like God's way of saying, "get over yourself and do this". Anyway, this verse section is so beautiful for so many reasons, the first of which being "do not let the sun go down while you are still angry". It's like God KNOWS that something happens when you let your crap fester. I think that we slip this verse into the "marriage" category and throw it around as a good piece of advice to give couples when they fight (thank you, Fireproof), but we forget about its importance in daily life. This verse speaks straight to my heart because I am one of the worst procrastinators ever, and I absolutely put of confrontation as long as humanly possible. I'm terrible at conflict, I'm scared of it, and I run away from it like the plague.
But the best thing about serving our Jesus is that he won't let us stay the same for long. He gives us a beautiful set of "therefore's" to make us better versions of ourselves. I serve a Lord that puts fantastic situations in my life and always reminds me that conflict can make you better, not bitter. One of the most amazing things I learned from working for Celebrate Recovery for so many years is the healing and beauty that can come from confrontation. Facing the hard stuff doesn't always end badly (although it can feel pretty rough along the way), but facing those would-be monsters in your closet can actually prove to be beneficial.
The second reason these verses are chalk-full of awesomeness is "do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths". It's so easy for me to find faults in other people, because it's so much less messy than looking at my own junk. One of the most mind-blowing things about Satan is that he can grasp a hold of our lives in ways that we don't even see coming, and we conform to sin in a way that makes us feel so comfortable, and it's embarrassing. Seriously, how can we justify saying degrading and misleading things about another person? I mean, you only need to read about 5 sentences from anywhere in the New Testament to know that we serve a Jesus that despises anything of that nature.
Moral of the story- Me:0 Jesus: 5 billion.
Team Jesus, dude.
PS- Stephen Miller has a fantastic song for a time like this....-
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