Not one single person I know wants to be unpopular. Not one. In fact, nearly all of the people I know are likeable, and well-liked. (I say "nearly" because we all know there are some grumps out there - in everybody's life!)
So is this a bad thing? Especially for Christians? Aren't we called by Christ to love others, to do good to all, to be kind and generous? And that kind of behavior makes us popular, right?
Ummmmmm maybe not.
At least that's not to be the goal. Check out what Jesus said in Luke 6;26 -
Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for in the same way their fathers treated the false prophets.
I don't like it when someone doesn't like me. It bothers me. I want to fix it. Maybe you are the same way.
Recently, I asked the Lord for some help in one of these situations and His answer surprised me. As you might imagine, it had way more to do with my own heart than that of my UNfriend.
There is alot of Truth packed into this one verse. And it pours out at different angles. Let's unpack it to see some of what God has for us in it:
1. Being popular is not something to seek or even to desire. Jesus says "woe to you when all men speak well of you" - this lets us know that being popular will bring sorrow, not joy. Woe, not blessing.
2. Jesus equates being well spoken of by everyone with the life of a false prophet. That is dangerous! Elsewhere, He tells us that false prophets devour people instead of loving them, led others to destruction instead of to Him, and are everywhere. (Matthew 7:15, 24:11,24)
3. What is it about false prophets that puts them in the Scriptural thesaurus with desiring to be well-liked? The idolizing of self.
Gulp.
When our goal is to be popular, we are actually worshipping our own SELF. And when that goal is blocked, our heart is revealed. Do we fret or get angry or even seek retaliation towards someone who mistreats us? Do we accuse them of being unlikeable themselves and even try to discredit them with others?
Do we try harder to win them over, to move them from disliking us to liking us (or at least to neutrality!)?
Or do we examine our own hearts and see what is there...
If we are being mistreated because we are living so much like Jesus that it makes someone uncomfortable, we are to rejoice. (Matthew 5:10-12)
If we are disliked by someone because there is a problem between us, we are to go to that person and make it right (Matthew 5:23,24)
If, however, we are uncomfortable because someone's lack of love for us blocks our goal of popularity, then we are our own problem. We have an idol. And that calls for repentance.
It's not your fault...but you can fix it
Are you in conflict with someone right now?
Maybe it's your teenager. Or your co-worker. Somebody at church or in the neighborhood.
Maybe it's your spouse.
Ask yourself some questions about that...
What bothers you about that person?
What is the source of the angst between you?
What would you like to change about this relationship/that person?
Do you think things can get better?
This isn't a post about changing the other person to make this better.
And it's not a post about changing yourself.
This is a post about the problem.
I continually surprise myself at how easily I get distracted from the real problem. How quickly I can slip into thinking that my relational concerns are the rooted in someone's quirks or issues or even their sin...or my own.
Those are not the root but rather the leaves and branches of the conflict.
Ephesians 6:12 spells out the problem clearly - For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
The root of the conflict between you and your child, you and your neighbor, you and your spouse is not the other person. And it's not you. It's not any person - it's spiritual.
The spiritual forces of evil that wage war in the heavenly places against the saints.
It's not a sci-fi movie - it's real.
The unseen powers of wickedness that temporarily rule over this world are the cause for the problems in your relationship. The source for the conflicts that torment us. That's the enemy. That's who we need to battle...not the other person.
How easily we are deceived into blaming someone for the tension, the separation, the pain that exists in our relationships. We battle the pride and selfishness and anger and greed of our friend, our child, our spouse...and ourselves.
And we keep losing.
The conflict persists. Intensifies. Breaks us apart.
Because we're fighting the wrong combatant!
We don't have to lose this war. We don't have to experience the casualties of conflict. But we do have to fight.
The right hostile forces.
With the right weapons.
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
2 Corinthians 10:4
Spiritual forces cannot be defeated with fleshly weapons.
Arguing, pleading, manipulating, even counseling are insufficient (sometimes even more destructive) in our struggle against them.
We need divine power.
The weapons God has divinely equipped us with are found in Ephesians 6. Verses 17, 18 - the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Two weapons. Divinely powered to destroy the real enemy in our relationships.
Prayer and God's Word.
No substitutes will effect the change we want, the peace we desire, the blessings we seek.
Take a moment. Ponder that relationship that is in such strife.
It's not their fault. Or yours.
But you can fix it.
Pray.
Pray God's Word over the problem. Into the conflict. Unto victory.
(Suggested resources - Stormie Omartian's books - The Power of a Praying Woman, The Power of a Praying Wife, The Power of a Praying Parent ; Beth Moore's Praying God's Word )
About that rainbow....
I saw a rainbow the other day. I just love rainbows! I love thinking about the promise they represent, of God's mercy in light of His rightful judgment on us. What a glorious reminder of His eternal covenant with His people!
When I was writing the Bible study on Heaven a few years ago, I learned something about rainbows that made them even more significant to me. This truth from God's Word is beyond exciting, y 'all. Whenever I teach about it, I am pretty much overwhelmed with delight. God truly is above and beyond what we can imagine!
Let me share with you what He taught me about rainbows...
Revelation 4:2,3 tells us Immediately I was in the Spirit and behold a throne was standing in Heaven and One sitting on the throne, and He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.
There is way too much in this passage to cover in one post (you can download the Bible study from this site, and listen to the audio series if you want more info) so we are just going to laser in on the phrase "and there was a rainbow around the throne". Just in that phrase, God gives us a boat load of precious truth!
First, the back-story...
A rainbow was the sign that God gave the world after He flooded the earth in judgment that He would never again destroy all flesh with water. Many of us are familiar with the story of Noah from the book of Genesis (9:9-17)
9 “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you,10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
A rainbow is formed when light shines through a prism. The light of His holiness and judgment shining through the prism of mercy and love...a rainbow. So every time we see a rainbow, we are reminded of God's promise of mercy, of the beautiful symbol of His covenant with us. From earth, we see the rainbow as a half-arc, stretching from one side of the horizon to the other.
Beautiful, yes...but only half. In this life, we cannot see what we will see in Heaven - that rainbow will be complete! The rainbow will go all around His Throne! Here, we see in part, but One Day we shall see fully - that rainbow will be a circle because His promise will be complete!
The full circle rainbow around His Throne will be the result of the light of God's Holiness being filtered through the prism of the Cross. Without the Cross, there could be no rainbow...we would all be destroyed by His righteous judgment. But the Cross is the prism of mercy that diffuses His judgment against us, surrounding His Throne...mercy triumphs over judgment...and in Heaven, it will be complete! In Heaven, His mercy is eternally and fully displayed...the rainbow surrounding His Throne.
Because of His great mercy, in this life, we can approach His Throne confidently (even boldly!) in prayer, knowing we will not destroyed or even ignored but rather received with joy and assurance. That rainbow we see here on earth - even as a half-arc - reminds us of that great and glorious promise.
But One Day, when this life is over, we will be able to stand before His Throne, to see Him face to face, worshiping, unafraid of His judgment, rejoicing! The circle of His promise will be complete. Mercy wins. The rainbow shines forever!
How does God's Word work?
How does God’s Word work in my life?
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It’s a familiar passage,I Corinthians 13:4-7. Most of us had it read at our own wedding and maybe even hung a picture of these words on the wall of our babies’ nursery. Nothing wrong with that! But a long read of the first verse recently caused me to examine how well I live it out….
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