Peace And Goodwill Towards Men. Part [15] 01/03/2024/ (Evening thought)

Ephesians 4: 26 Be angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath. 27 Neither give place to the devil.

The issue of giving another person the benefit of the doubt will cause us to put the very best construction upon the words and actions of others. No, the person did not mean to disregard, or evade your call. They were actually on the other line with an emergency call from their doctor, who had given them some bad news about a diagnosis of cancer, and because of the grave nature of the conversation they had really forgotten to call back.

It all has to do with giving persons the benefit of the doubt, and not becoming riled up or easily provoked if, and when things do not go according to script. In our interaction with other folks, and in our efforts to seek and cultivate peace and good will, there would be instances when we might have to bite the bullet, and let things slide, leaving the situation with God.

In other situations, if persons speak or approach us in derogatory or intimidating ways, instead of going the route of self-preservation, we will have to keep our cool, and maintain a Christlike demeanor, even in argumentative situations. Sorry to say it, but some Christian spouses have the habit of arguing with one another, and in some cases, some are always on edge so that the least ruffling of their feathers, triggers a flurry of un-Christlike words and actions. This is what the Bible has to say in such situations.

Ephesians 4: 29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.

May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!

Peace And Goodwill Towards Men. Part [14] 01/02/2024/ (Morning thought)

Luke 9:53 And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? 55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, You know not what manner of spirit you are of. 56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

[3] “Is not easily provoked”

Many of us as Christians do have short tempers. We may be loving and kind in many other respects, and we may have mercy and honesty as strong points in our characters, but with many of us, we blow a fuse too quickly, and as such, in too many instances, we are too “Easily provoked”.

The tendency to take things personally would often set the stage for us to be discombobulated in spirit. Especially is this the case when we refuse to give a person the benefit of the doubt as to their intention and purposes. One of the highlights of the passages found in 1st Corinthians 13 is that selfless love “Believeth all things” meaning that the intentions and purposes of others are always to be interpreted in the best light, until there may be something else to the contrary.

 No, the old lady with the Ford Escort did not really mean to give you a bad drive; she was struggling with her glasses, to try and see the road properly in the rain and her reflexes were not as sharp as when she was younger. No, your spouse did not really mean to spend that much on groceries and gifts for the holidays. In the heat of the moment, he, or she was overcome by impulse buying, and it was out of the goodness of their hearts that they went overboard, in trying to make others happy. Believe you me, they had originally intended to stay within the budget.

Matthew 7:1 udge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!