"Blessed is the one who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the way that sinners take, nor sit in the company of the scornful, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates in his law day and night." Hi Dad, I am beginning to really understand why I have to be careful who I take advice from, who I hang with, who I call "friend" and who I invite into my home. My earthly grandfather used to counsel me this saying: "you are known by the friends that you keep". I am learning that your word must be the basis, the foundation... of any advice that I take, where I dare to go, the friendships I make and who I decide to spend my time with. Not only will it lead to positivity within my life, but more importantly, I will be blessed.
Sometime ago I decided that I would make it a priority to support black businesses and professionals. I know of those who make the same commitment when it comes to choosing businesses and professional advisors who are Christians. My mother's doctor is a born-again Christian and after he diagnoses what's ailing her and gives her a prescription, they will pray together that you will heal her.
First and foremost, we need to look to you for guidance. Through you, we can receive counsel, support and friendship in the body of Christ. Through you, we can discern those who are a positive influence on our life, those who we need to avoid, as well as those we need to resist.
Like all things with you Dad, it comes down to commitment and faith... based on your love.
@Asa...Jesus reached out to the outcasts and those marginalized groups of his day as part of his ministry. He was denigrated and ostracized for it. There seems to be a paradox in the verse you cite and how we're told over and over how he admonished us to show compassion to the outcasts and I'm citing a verse from Matthew 25:40 "Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these brethren, ye have done it unto me".
ReplyDeleteMy caution is not to be so self-righteous and rigid in how we treat those who may question
all or some of the many religious tenets and viewpoints that have been USED also to start wars, support oppression and stigmatized those who may not always agree with what we have accepted as part of our "commitment and faith".
As always I enjoy your chats with Dad!
Carolyn, I am at a lost of how you connected the above verse and my conversation with my advocating not showing compassion to the marginalized, outcast or "sinners" in general (if I may use that term). It may be what you took from it, but nowhere do I state (or believe for that matter) that one is not to show compassion to others nor listen to other points of views. That is certainly not the point of the verse nor the intent of my conversation.
ReplyDeleteIn fact Christ clearly states: "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repent". However He also clearly states: "If you love me, keep my commandments".
The point of the verse and my conversation is that one needs to be careful about who you take advice and counsel from, who you call "friend" or who you have a close relationship with. It doesn't mean that the only requirement for this is that they must be "Christians" or see the world exactly as you do or even have the same beliefs. Personally, although I am a Christian, there are other Christians I know who I would never take advice from, or call a "friend", while for example I have a Muslim friend, who I consider more like a brother, who I am very close to and who I bounce things off when I need some advice on particular issues.
Although I strongly believe "you need to believe in something or you will fall for anything", a vital aspect of personal and spiritual growth entails listening and appreciating other points of view, regardless if you agree with that belief or not.
Unfortunately, I find that the majority of people are fearful of those with strong points of view, opinions and/or beliefs and therefore caution about perceived self-righteousness and rigidity, which could indeed lead to wars, etc. We all process things differently, so I see your caution as coming from a positive and sincere place... so I thank you.
Blessings.
Oh my....all this comes from a sincere place as I respect what you have to say. I, too, believe that when you have a fragile philosophy about life and what your core ethics or morals are; you are more likely to fall for anything.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read your profile what really struck me
was your statement: "for at the end of the day as I lay my head down to sleep, if I believe all the same things I did when I woke up, then I haven't stagnated, I've regressed".
I may have been a little longer on this journey
called life than you and have had some epiphanies, however, I've also returned full circle to some earlier beliefs that I had discarded based on more knowledge gained.
Asa, please know that my response was not an attack of any kind. It's just been my experience that one can be strong in their convictions, yet, able to listen to others because we share this planet with them. It has also been my experience that topics such as religion and politics with the former being the forerunner in clearing out kitchens, living rooms, conference rooms and any other venue where people meet to socialize or educate themselves.
As I said many times that I enjoy reading your chats with Dad and as most "siblings" are prone to do--we sometimes hear what we want to hear based on previous experiences. Thank you for clarifying some areas.
Take care and God Bless you and yours. :-)
Sister Carolyn, first let me state that in no way did I take your response as an attack on me... not only now, but any of your previous comments. Unfortunately, I do find that people in general take it as a personal attack if you disgree with their opinions or don't view the world as they do, particularly within the blogging community. I am not one of those people.
ReplyDeleteI always welcome and respect your comments, even though in this case you may have had a different perspective than was my intent. However your perspective is vital and relevant... because it's yours. I am also open enough to allow it to cause me to reassess and reflect on what I said, as well as how I said it.
In regards to my conversation, I am well aware that most people, regardless of whether they are Christians and non-Christians, are more comfortable with portraying Christ as only being about love and mercy. The truth is Christ is just as importantly about righteousness and judgement. From Genesis to Revelations, all these attributes are there and are preached about.
Therefore if God is about righteousness and judgement as well, then there are the religious/spritual concepts of right and wrong to consider, which if we believe in, we make the choice to follow... or not. This provides the basis of the above verse and conversation: there is right and wrong advice, there are right and wrong ways of doing things, as well as being careful with who we associate with.
That is why it is vital... even delightful, to know God's law and commandments for our lives. The remaninder of the Psalms lays out the particular benefits.
Blessings.