"God Cares for You More Than You Care for You"

Friends,

I write this because my heart is so truly broken by all that I see passing through my social media newsfeeds. I cannot pretend to know how each individual is affected by what is going on in the world today. All I know is how this affects my heart and I want to share this with you now, if you'll let me. God aligns things in his perfect timing, and what better time than now for Him to teach us about anger and love than in these past few weeks at church. This post is mainly speaking to followers of Christ, or people who call themselves Christians, but I think everyone should hear it.

We are called to love one another. I know this is easier said than done most times, but it's something that takes work. This doesn't happen over night, trust me. It's a bumpy road filled with holes that has been traveled so often by so many, but no one seems to want to take the time to patch the holes because it costs so much...time. 1 John 3:11-23 says this:

Love One Another

"This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. So don't be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 

If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don't have eternal life within them.

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion--how can God's love be in that person?

Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

Dear friends, if we don't feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do things that please him. And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. Those who obey God's commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us."

Now, this passage is specifically written for believers. 1 John is written to reassure Christians in their faith and to counter false teachings ("I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life." 1 John 5:13), but that doesn't mean  others can't learn from this passage as well. Don't just totally write this off. Talk is cheap people. You can proclaim things all you want, but can you actually live out what you proclaim? You claim you love, but do you really? When I see so many of my Christian friends saying such hurtful things about individuals or a group of individuals, it hurts me down to my core. You don't have to understand why people do the things they do, but you do have to love them. You were commanded to do so. You don't have to agree, but you have to love. You have to pray for the courage to do so. Your heart should crumble at the thought of someone not having love in their heart. You should pray for the lost, for the confused, for the hurt; for the people who look like they have it all figured out but who are really hurting inside. If you don't, you put your heart at risk of turning cold, seething with bitterness and anger. Anger is a natural instinct. We all feel it at times. But what do you do when that feeling starts to well up inside of you? James 1:19-27 says this:

Listening and Doing

"Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you."

Anger is human nature, but to let it overcome you and make you think unspeakable things is just as bad as you acting on those feelings. You are giving Satan an opportunity to weasel his way into your life and whisper things to your heart that your mind might just be inclined to let you act upon. When you wake in the morning, you must remember to put on the full armor of God. Ephesians 6:10-18 says this:

The Whole Armor of God

"A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere."

As believers, I know you've all heard it before, but I'm going to say it again. You might be the only example of God someone sees, and your credibility as a light to his kingdom to that person is instantly tarnished the moment you let your tongue run rampant or let your anger overcome you. We've all done it, myself included, but I hope that your actions immediately made you regret and I hope you've asked for forgiveness. We live in a world where the darkness and shadows often obscure the light, but don't let your light be snuffed out by that which looms all around us. I often think back to a popular show on TV (which I happen to enjoy watching), Once Upon a Time (stay with me here, I have a point) and how Emma Swan (a main character) becomes "the dark one." On the show she is considered "the savior" who usually saves the town or individuals from becoming conquered by the "evil" characters on the show. When she became "the dark one," she tried to resist the darkness in order to stay true to the her innate goodness. She fails at times, which anyone would understandably, but she didn't give up. When evil comes at us from all sides, constantly trying to bang down our doors and break down our barriers, we need to be persistent in fighting for what we know is good and true. We cannot give Satan any hold over us, for he will feast on us gladly! Love conquers all, more true, God's love conquers all. The war is already won. God has already written the story, we know the ending.  Are you going to keep fighting for the winning side, or are you going to keep fighting for the opposing side? 

As a recap, Christianity is a religion of the heart; outward compliance alone is not enough (1 John 3:15). Real love is an action, not a feeling (1 John 3:16). Selfish anger NEVER helps anybody. Anger that comes from our own ego being bruised (I am hurt, My opinions are not being heard...me, me, me, I, I, I...) is not acceptable! But we should be angry when injustice and sin occur because others are being hurt (James 1:19, 20). To withstand attacks brought forth by the devil himself, we MUST (not we SHOULD) depend on God's strength and use every piece of his armor (Ephesians 6:10-17).

If we all shared Christ's love on a daily basis as we should; if we all carried out Christ's love on a daily basis as we should; if we all treated each other with Christ's love as we should; then maybe our world would be a little better off than it is now. Let's stop being so selfish thinking about our own wants, our own needs, our own desires. What does your neighbor need? Let's start there.

If you don't know Christ's love already, would you be willing to give him a chance to love you? Would you be willing to love him back? What do you have to lose?

 Oh, but what do you have to gain?

"I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on either side."  Psalms 3:6