The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice. Prov 12:15
How do we have deep discussions as Christians if we have to fear being attacked by other Christians? I really have a lot of questions I want to ask. A topic I want to dig deeper into and yet, I don’t feel safe in doing so.
How do we know when our own pride is keeping us from seeing scripture clearly? Do our own agendas and feelings cloud what God’s word really says? Do our own convictions cause us to twist scripture to fit our needs? Can we both interpret the same scripture differently and both be “right”? If I feel personally convicted in something and another brother or sister in Christ does not feel convicted about it, does that mean they’re sinning? If we disagree on scripture, does that make one of us less of a Christian?
Yeah, I have a lot of tough questions. What are your thoughts? How do we do we ask the tough questions without becoming divisive? When do we become slaves to our own convictions that are perhaps not from God but seem righteous?
1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Gal 5:1
The LORD is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.
(Psa 145:9)
PS – If comments become personal attacks, I will remove them.
Great post. I personally have a few close, trusted friends that I know will give me their truthful, honest opinion, in LOVE. Some may feel it’s their personal mission to point out sinfulness in others, particularly in someone they may not know well. I feel sorry for them, because they don’t see their own pride. Jesus said to love the Lord our God, and to love our neighbors. I’m sure the individuals from Westboro Baptist also feel like they are offering up loving correction. : (
I have a friends whom a few years ago I was sharing some weird financial happenings. She very humbly, and loving, asked if I was tithing. At that point I was not tithing in the way that I should have been. She explained, again very humbly and lovingly that the enemy can mess with our finances. Because she was so humble and loving, I didn’t take any offense at all. Had she been someone that I didn’t know well, or had been more harsh and judgmental, I quite possibly could have allowed myself to become offended. I think we just have to be careful with whom we allow to correct or offend us.
Thanks Jodi! You always have great insights. I do have close friends thank goodness, so looks like I need to get together and have a pow wow with them 🙂 I do wish that we could sometimes discuss things online and ask honest questions w/o someone having something rude to say or getting their feathers ruffled. Yesterday’s discussion certainly opened up some thoughts for me. I really disliked seeing some very personal attacks take place on the personal blogs. I don’t see being mean as being Christian or productive. So I am weary of starting a conversation here.
You ask an interesting question: Can we both interpret the same scripture differently and both be “right”?
I have heard many times that we need to interpret God’s words rightly which is true. But then, some would argue why not read the word as is intead of trying to interpret it. There was one time a friend of minds was interpreting what I said to him rather than listening to what I actually said. What I said was very straight forward. It was something so simple and he made it seem more complicated than it really is. It later led to so many misunderstanding.
There are so many church denominations and all say they preach God’s word but have different interpretations. Some will say, “Once saved, always saved.” Some will say, “You can still loose your salvation.”
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Yes! Exactly. That is very hard. Something can be sin for me and not for you. Since I have issues with food, I should not eat something I know is going to turn into a craving and become an idol for me because it will lead me to sin. You may be able to eat that same item and because food is not an issue for you, it’s not going to become sinful. That’s just an example, in general, not directly at you. Can you tell I have a lot mulling around in my mind.
Yes, I can understand where you are coming from. Your questions and concerns are common to many and this is what makes your blog so interesting. You are not afraid to bring it out to the open and you’ll be surprised how many people will find they are not the only one after reading this post. It sort of set my mind at ease to know I am not the only one with similar questions.
Blogging about the tough issues and asking the tough questions is not always easy. Sometimes I ask our Lord, “you want me to ask my readers to …??” oiy! But He knows what we need. I have a blog that I don’t widely promote in some circles, because of the tough issues. The one I have linked into my comment is the easier to read blog 😉
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It is hard. It seems if you get too deep, feathers get ruffled but if some can’t handle talking about tough issues, then something might be up 🙂 IMO 🙂 We don’t learn or grow without asking the tough questions!