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Dakotasunbeam -> RE: Can we be real here? (4/26/2008 7:34:58 PM)
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quote:
There was some discussion on the social sites thread concerning people not feeling the freedom to be who they really are around Christians, but having that freedom around the lost.
This is a concept that is totally foreign to me. I am who I am no matter where I am.
Are you?
Yes. I do not necessarily understand the concept of being more open with unbelievers than believers--because they are the world. We are light and they are darkness. Light lives in me, so how can I feel more comfortable around darkness?
That said, there are plenty of people who call themselves Christians and do not practise as such. Some are judgemental, some are immoral, some do what they feel. But the underlying core is that some folks really aren't practising believers. God calls us to notice unbelievers by their fruit, and warns us that evil communication corrupts good manners. This is so true, I've seen it SO much. So I understand that coming into any "church" or "christian" forum, some people won't really have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
I personally believe in being ones self around anyone. To not do so, would seem duplicitous to me. God wants us to have integrity. And I believe that is still important.
I do not need to know everything about every one on this forum or elsewhere. I'm not one of those enquiring minds that just needs to know someone else's business. This is a public forum, and there are some bad people out there, so it is wise to protect some information. But by the same token, in dealing with human beings one has to expect people to be, well, people. People make mistakes and they don't always say the right thing. Sometimes people don't say what we want to hear. Sometimes feelings get hurt, somtimes we take offense. That's a given living in a sinful world.
What separates the overcomer from the rest, however, is the ability to forgive and move on. Bitterness, unforgiveness, and resentment is a poisonous root that only kills the host. It stifles people and forbids them to develop strong relationships and meaningful friendships. They latch on to any unkind or misinterpreted thing and nurse it until it becomes a monster. Let it Go.
Life is too short to stay walled up, dammed up, and holed up in your own distrust and resentment. Being real is essential to a healthy life. Jesus Christ is all about reconcilliation. The faster you can forgive other believers and move on, the better, because you may need to forgive them again in the next moment. If believers could grab on to this, they could walk in victory with each other. Life requires a little vulnerability to be sweet.
Yes, I believe there are certain things other Christians may "get down on me" for, but generally, those things are subjective. And if they are subjective, I have no condemnation; but I will not do them around someone else for fear of stumbling my brother. I can tell you, I've been most grateful for the Christians who were very plain with me and toiled with me in the scriptures to bring me to truth and understanding. As I began to see how everything articulates or fits together in the Bible, it made it clear and very easy for me to see whether what someone says is biblical or not.
IRL, I actually had a conversation with a guy who said he was a christian but believed sleeping around was OK. We both had a long conversation with each other, pointing out scripture and etc. He wasn't convinced, though. [;)] I wasn't angry at him at all--it was his loss to believe that.
As a believer if someone points out something that I am doing wrong, one of two things will occur.
1. I will search scriptures and learn that what they say is right
2. I will search scriptures and learn that what they say is false.
There's no need to ever be in confusion about righteous living, when there's the Bible with all of the answers laid out. I don't feel condemnation unless deep down I know that what I'm doing is wrong, or flirting with wrong.
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