Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle towards everyone.
Titus 3:1-2
Hold my mule Lord, hold my mule!! Often times us Christians are approached with such worldly things that we may want to get out of character.
The clap back can be righteously warranted but deadly to your witness. As Christian’s we are held to a higher standard that is always on trial and in the public opinion, reflects the face of our Savior.
As unfair as it may be, we are ambassadors for our worldview and when we are out of line, it isn’t charged against us–but our God.
I know what you’re thinking…yes, we are human too! But we are called to a high call in Christ Jesus that is before us in our daily walk with HIM.
So in my many, many, MANY failed attempts to get this thing right, God uncovered 4 steps to help me stay on track and not allow my good to be evil spoken of…
Lets take a look …
Before we respond in words or actions consider these 4 simple questions:
1. What will God gain by my actions or words?
2. What will the enemy [satan] gain by my actions or words?
3. What will God lose by my actions or words?
4. What will the enemy [satan] lose by my actions or words?
The key is to maximize your response actions to ensure that God gains glory and the enemy loses glory.
For each question, write down exactly what your action or words will do. Be specific. Don’t leave anything out.
For example, if someone cuts me off while driving and I roll up beside them and curse them out:
1. God will gain a bad representation by His ambassadors. There is no glory because filthy language does not edify anyone. It does not reflect the compassion of Christ nor does it foster an opportunity to witness the Gospel as we are all instructed to do as priest. But if you refrain from such actions and ignore the unfortunate driving incident, God gains another soldier who has resisted the enemy’s test.
2. The enemy gains legal rights to the words that you spoke and gains leverage in the courtroom of heaven. Because you have succumbed to your carnality and behaved unbecoming of a priest of the Gospel, that serpent is welcome to eat the dust of your flesh. But if no fowl language or grievous act was committed, the enemy is resisted and must flee.
3. God loses an opportunity to be glorified because His character is not reflected. You will likely have to repeat this test until you pass.
4. The enemy doesn’t lose much because our actions were in agreement with worldly emotions and did not reflect the standard emulated by Christ. But if he is resisted, then he loses this battle and must flee from us.
The key to this exercise is to think with a Christ-like mind before you respond or react. Everything Jesus did, was not on “His own accord but was everything He saw His Father in Heaven doing” (John 5:19).
Ensure that whatever you choose, it guarantees that God will gain and satan loses. That’s it!
The best part is that it requires you to selah–pause, just for a moment. In every pause there is an inhale and an exhale that allows movement of the Holy Spirit to guide you. Breathe Him in! Let Him govern your next move and you will rest assured knowing that you gave a Godly response.
Just try it and see for yourself! I have to say–it has DEFINITELY worked for me in many occasions! IJS
