Comments on: Damage Control ~~ "Grieve Him Not"

By: selahV

selahV — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:11:36 +0000

Bryan, well, when I received your kind validation, it was the least I could do to go read your blog for a while. And your comment was so fitting to the stream, it was well worth mentioning. Even if I did pull it out of its environment to stand alone. selahV

By: Bryan Riley

Bryan Riley — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:50:56 +0000

Thanks, Harriete. It feels kinda odd being quoted.

By: selahV

selahV — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:44:10 +0000

Bryan, thanks. Every day I find myself examining my own heart in light of this Scripture passage. I’m sure the Lord would like all of His elect to yield to His examination rather than relying on our own. I especially liked one paragraph of something you wrote last week:

“As we fix our eyes on Jesus we see a complete gospel. When we fixate on what we find easy or to our liking/understanding then we water down the gospel and fail to follow God’s call on our lives. We fail the greatest commandment: loving the Lord our God with all our hearts, our souls, our strength; with all of our hearts, our souls, our minds; with every part of the tri-une image God breathed into our lives. We also find ourselves creating disunity not only in our own lives but in the Body of Christ as we trumpet the importance of one aspect of our relationship with the Father while discounting or completely neglecting the importance of other aspects.”

Unity is highly underrated and valued today. I think unity is only found in the Living Lord who indwells in each of us. Apart from Him, our ideas, views and theology is just clanging cymbals, don’t you think? selahV

By: Bryan Riley

Bryan Riley — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 11:17:00 +0000

Great post! I hope more bloggers will allow God to examine their hearts on these issues. I feel like God often leads me to write about unity and edification.

By: selahV

selahV — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 00:13:36 +0000

Jim, I think that is the key in understanding how things are when we hurt others. It’s not what we feel about ourselves and how others treat us, but what Jesus feels because of the way we talk to others and treat others. He is grieved. There is much more to our actions than we look at as we deal with how others treat us. It simply is not about us. It is about Him. I’ve been chewing on this for several weeks and God is still showing me a lot. selahV

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 22:09:53 +0000

Wow, Hariette. That cuts to the quick. I wonder how our lives would change if we actually thought about our actions and attitudes emotionally effect God.

Geoff summed it up all too well when he used the word “humbling.”

Thanks. You have given my soul something to chew on all weekend.

By: selahV

selahV — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:13:37 +0000

Leslie, hello. thanks for adding your thoughts. well said and a great goal you set. I have a similar one. selahV

By: Leslie

Leslie — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:32:48 +0000

I think blogs can definitely serve an eternal purpose! I think you said exactly how we can participate in blogs in a godly way by quoting Eph. 4:29. We must use language that builds others up and spurs others on to love and good deeds.
I was convicted a few years back to not attack others on my blog, but to encourage others to exalt Christ.

By: selahV

selahV — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:04:39 +0000

Geoff: Thanks be to God that His Spirit convicts we Believers. However you are so correct, there are many who disregard admonishment, resist and rebel against His voice. All too often we are more concerned with the specks in another’s eyes than the log in our own. I think that is why our Savior emphasized it in such a memorable way.

Great point about the “faceless” recipient behind our monitor screens. It’s really hard for some folks to believe the words gentle and earnest concern for their growth as Christians when all they feel is their own fingertips itching to respond. selahV

By: Geoff Baggett

Geoff Baggett — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:57:28 +0000

Hariette,

What a humbling, amazing reminder. Especially for those of us who write and participate in the world of Christian / Baptist blogs.

I believe the passage that you cite speaks directly to us. Sadly, thought, we sometimes seem to jump right into the world of unwholesome, worthless talk in the semi-anonymous, faceless blog world. My perception is that many blogging folk find it easier to assail and assault because their victims are faceless … something short of real people. Unfortunately, since we tend to judge everyone else’s words and actions on the “sliding scale” of our own behavior, we tend to think that everyone else is the true offender … that we, ourselves, are somehow righteously “right.”

I am shamed by much of what I see. Sometimes I am ashamed of my own words.

Thanks for the reminder.

Like Dr. Peacock’s summary statement on yesterday’s post regarding lawsuits … this post should be “required reading” in Southern Baptist blogdom.

But like most good sermons, I think that most bloggers would respond like the typical parishioner on Sunday (while shaking hands with the pastor), “You really put it to them today! I hope everyone else was listening!”