3 things to avoid to get along with others…

let me ask you a question from james 3.13 (msg), do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? then, here’s what you do. that is what we are looking at here on the porch.

verse 17 says, (msg), real wisdom, GOD’s wisdom…is characterized by getting along with others.  i’m not real wise if i don’t get along with people. 

do you have a tendency to not get along with people, to antagonize them to the point of anger?  if you do then you are not wise.  there are some people who are always looking for a fight; they are constantly arguing with people.  is that you?

i heard of this guy who was so argumentative that he would only eat food that disagreed with him.  have you met someone like that? 

proverbs 20.3 (gnt), any fool can start arguments; the wise thing is to stay out of them. good idea.

so what do you think causes arguments?  if you are wise you’ll know so you can avoid them.

one is comparing.  you say things like, “you’re just like…” or “ why can’t you be like…”, “when i was your age…”  “my first husband-wife…”  2 corinthians 10.12 (cev) says, they are foolish to compare themselves.

also avoid condemning.  “it’s all your fault.”  “you should be ashamed.”   just lay on that guilt.  “you always.”  “you never,”  “you ought to,”  “you should…, “  “you shouldn’t,” 

someone said, “you can bury your marriage with a lot of little digs.”

and then 3. avoid contradicting.  “no, that’s not right” “it wasn’t black it was white.”  do you like to be interrupted in the middle of a sentence?   it’s irritating isn’t it?  

williams james says, “the secret of wisdom is knowing what to overlook.”  some things are just not worth the fight.  wisdom gets along.

just a thought from the front porch…

love in action...

the bible says, love is kind. as we go through, verse by verse, this great chapter on love – 1 corinthians 13 in verse 4b (niv) – the bible says that we need to be kind.

so what is kindness? kindness is love in action. we said earlier that love is not a feeling. it is something you do. it creates feelings. it produces feelings, enormous emotions. but love is not a feeling; it is an action. the bible says that love is kindness in action.

now JESUS once told a story of three men who are traveling on the road from jerusalem to jericho, which is a very notorious road, known for muggers and thieves and they all come upon a crime scene and each of these three men responds to the crime scene in a different way. JESUS says these three men represent your three choices in life. you’re going to go through life with one of three attitudes toward the people around you, particularly the people in pain.

the first attitude is the keep my distance attitude. luke 10.30-31 (tev) says this: there was a man going down from jerusalem to jericho when robbers attacked him, stripped him, beat him up and left him half dead. it so happened that a priest was going down that road. but when he saw the man he walked on by the other side.

he walked on by the other side. this is the lifestyle of avoidance, or keep my distance. don’t ever get close to people because they might ask you for help. don’t ever get close to people because you might be needed by them. keep all your relationships superficial. keep them shallow. keep people at an arm’s length because if you get close, you might get involved. and if you get involved you might get hurt.

this guy says, i'll just keep my distance and go on my business on the other side of the road.

in your relationships is that your attitude, you keep your distance? that is not love.

just a thought from the front porch…