Ecclesiastes 4:10 New International Version (NIV)
10 If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
Romans 8:5-8 The Message (MSG)
5-8 Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored.
Recently I find myself in the observation mode of watching people and the way they interact both in face to face contacts and with social media. I have found that often the ideals behind social media spill into the way people are with one another. Most often I see that we have lost the art of disagreement. You remember when you could tell your friend they were full of it and you could discuss why! Those times seem to be disappearing. Nowadays, if you don’t agree with their obvious points of wisdom on the state of the world, you are unfriended.
Guess I am just getting old in my old school ways. The bible taught me to take on a multitude of counselors in order that I might not council with a fool (myself and my opinion only). Yet, today dump the council and keep those people that agree with them, seems to be the norm. Or, better yet they will just walk it out alone, because after all, who needs people in their lives that don’t agree with them. This shows up in church hopping, comparison of how they are better at what they do than anyone, and simple running away when they are disagreed with. Most often these individuals are afraid to plant themselves to be part of something alive and growing, a form of iron sharpening iron.
I am often saddened when I see this in an individual. It rings so true to my past before Jesus came into my life. He taught me to see my irritations in others as the things I needed to change in myself. That perhaps they where a mirror of something inside of me that I was to take a look at. He showed me that life will always have challenges to overcome and yet, it is so much easier to have a body of folks that stand with you to help you through it. The Holy Spirit gave me a measure to put towards my feelings and the Bible helped me to take my thoughts captive. Life is so much more blessed on a daily basis!
I hope these musings help someone as they go out to the world. Find a body of people, however imperfect they may be and become the support that changes you all as you grow together. The Bible teaches often using the idea of a tree whose roots run deep to show us we need to be planted and serve one another to grow. Where are you going to plant your roots and find a place to serve the people that God places into your lives?
