I Feel Like I Want to Lose My Cool Towards the Lost... AGAIN!
I'll admit it's very tempting to lose my cool. Many times I feel that reaching out the lost can be a very tiresome task. I can end up asking myself what has being kind, loving and reaching out the lost done for me and that it's only making my life harder. I even feel like that I really want to lose my cool again after many years I haven't heckled or insult anybody for not taking the Gospel seriously. I feel like that I wanted to make sure that the message was given by every means possible. I wanted to get God's Word to them but all they did was laugh at me. I remembered the time I lost my cool and actually hit somebody out of anger.
There's always doing the right thing the wrong way. When I remembered I was getting mad, screaming inside the pastor's office that I wanted to choke a staunch Roman Catholic to death for persecuting me, he really had to open the Bible to John 18:9-11. He said, "Look, Peter wanted to fight for Christ. Look at what Jesus said. This shows that as much as you shouldn't compromise the message, you can't go around beating people up to get the Gospel delivered. Read the prophets and you can't show me a single example that they proclaimed God's warning by yelling, heckling and looking for fights. It's good to preach but not to become a warmonger."
There's always doing the right thing the wrong way. When I remembered I was getting mad, screaming inside the pastor's office that I wanted to choke a staunch Roman Catholic to death for persecuting me, he really had to open the Bible to John 18:9-11. He said, "Look, Peter wanted to fight for Christ. Look at what Jesus said. This shows that as much as you shouldn't compromise the message, you can't go around beating people up to get the Gospel delivered. Read the prophets and you can't show me a single example that they proclaimed God's warning by yelling, heckling and looking for fights. It's good to preach but not to become a warmonger."
I told the pastor that I was falsely accused and called names. But all he could say was to point me to Matthew 5:11-12 telling me to rejoice instead. It does find stupid at a human point of view but that's what Jesus said. Being persecuted for the wrong reasons is really a call for rejoicing. I feel the urge to really hit somebody again, maybe ring that person's neck or use a megaphone at that person or maybe use force so that person listens. But he said watering down one's message is wrong but becoming an aggressive warmonger who gets physical with people to get God's message across is just as equally misguided.
The Bible never condones to revenge but instead calls for forgiveness. The eye for eye tooth principle is how to deal with justice and never about personal revenge. Matthew 5:44 calls Christians to love their enemies. It's hard for me to practice it but God's grace is what I need. Romans 12:19-21 has Paul saying that instead of taking revenge, repay evil with kindness. Pride is why I don't give it up to God but He wants me to give it up to Him.
The Bible never condones to revenge but instead calls for forgiveness. The eye for eye tooth principle is how to deal with justice and never about personal revenge. Matthew 5:44 calls Christians to love their enemies. It's hard for me to practice it but God's grace is what I need. Romans 12:19-21 has Paul saying that instead of taking revenge, repay evil with kindness. Pride is why I don't give it up to God but He wants me to give it up to Him.