Matthew 5:23
"Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother has aught against thee;
Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy borther, and then come and offer thy gift."
So, what is the King James version telling you? Simply put, this --
"So, if you are worshipping, giving to the Lord, participating in a church service, or even walking down the road, and you remember that your brother (fellow Christian) has a problem with you,
Stop what you are doing, find your brother (fellow believer) and be reconciled (make it all good again), then go back to where you left off, and do what you were doing for God."
I just want to point out what it doesn't say! It doesn't say that the wronged person should sit and wait for the offender to come to them. It doesn't say that the offender should ignore the situation.
The above was posted in the Teen Room several weeks ago. I've been wanting to bring it here, just never got around to it.
You know what gets me? Adults get upset at a brother or sister in Christ and instead of going to them in love, and resolving it, or making sure that it was not a quirky misunderstanding (especially concerning communication on the Internet), they get mad and it escalates. Hurt feelings abound, and fellowship is broken. And it doesn't just affect the two parties involved. If a church is involved, the whole church will be effected.
Is there anyone (brother or sister in Christ) you need to make things right with?
Thank you Karma for bringing this to our attention. I do know that there are some who have left CP for this very reason. Hurt feelings, misunderstandings, lack of communication; As adults we are so (I can't thnk of the right word here) into our own feelings that we lack the abilities to say "Hey I made a mistke and I am sorry" and ask for forgiveness.
Thanks Karma... I appreciate your putting this in here.
Communication is so difficult on the internet and so often feelings are hurt. And the emails start to fly about and the PMs. Sometimes this makes the problem worse. This is just sad.
I was given some advice today... "Praise the Lord at ALL times, and for ALL things." and as Administrator of this site, I'm going to try to remember to do this.
I realize that I can't make everyone happy all the time. That's humanly impossible but I pray that this site will comtinue to be a blessing to many for it's testimony of God's saving grace to many members here.
I hope I didn't come across as harsh or holier-than-thou. It is just a situation I have seen time and time again. We, as adults (and especially Christians), should be more than willing to preserve our relationship with other believers, after we have been in conflict. Sometimes we have to swallow our pride and go on.
Yes, that's the big problem Karmat pride, pride, pride, and yet, we are told to humble ourselves, and think others better than ourselves, but do we?
Not enough.
And, in addition to Matt. 5, there's Matt. 18:15. "Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnessses every word may be established. And if he refuse to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector."
The point is that whether you have aught against your brother or your brother has aught against you - the responsibility is still yours to go and attempt to make it right.
So if someone on a website has offended, you must go to him/her. Or, if you remember that you have offended, then, again, you must go to him/her.
Thank you Karma...this is so true, and when you go to someone who offends you and offer them forgiveness, a wonderful feeling of release comes over you. If they choose not to forgive, then you have done your part and are free.
I know that our main responsibility as Christians is to love God first and love our Christian brother second.
God Bless
Love Ruthie