"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."
2. Don't be a gossip. True friends will communicate with each other about any disagreements or conflicts, however big or small. If you are a friend, you would not just listen to gossip but confirm/investigate/talk to the person about the issue at hand. Practice love and forgiveness to your friends who are your brothers and sisters in Christ.
“A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man [or woman] who talks too much”
“a perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends”
"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over."
3. Love and Respect - They go hand in hand. Love without respect can be like an uncontrolled burning passion which is let free to roam and burn, while respect without love is like building up a foundation with no Sydney Opera House, no exquisite building. Both need to work hand in hand, simultaneously, and people are going to fail because we are human. But we have to keep at it and grow and mature as men and women of God.
"...each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."
4. Life - is not always a smooth sail. There are always going to be things that pop up that you have to tackle face on. God is at work in the good and the bad times. When its good its easy to follow God. When its hard, its easy for us to run away or give up. We have to learn to trust God, be patient with Him, and be content wherever He has put us.
"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty..... I can do everything through him who gives me strength."
5. Disagreements between brothers - confront lovingly, discuss honestly, resolve graciously. When there is tension between people, without closure, issues can bubble on for days, weeks, months, years. We think we have dealt with them by sidestepping and letting it slip, but really its always there on the sidelines waiting to come up again. That is not closure. Anger that is not dealt with properly, whether explosive or implosive, is equally dangerous. How we deal with and react to anger is what causes us to sin or not sin. We need to learn to be open, seek a definitive and objective perspective, and forgive and show grace. Don't let things bubble over.
"In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry"
My two cents for today...
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