"Receive one who is weak in faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things.
For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables.
Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him.
Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.
He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord, and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.
For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.
For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.
For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
By why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
For it is written:
'As I live, says the Lord
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.'
So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way."
Romans 14:13
Given the recent dissension amongst Christians in lieu of the result of the most recent elections, I had a note prepared, delving deeper into a case I had already made, hoping to make a point. It was calmly written - it was a passionate note, but it was not an angry or accusatory one, but definitely one meant to prove a point.
I posted this note, let it settle for awhile, but in the midst of my procrastinations and distractions, I somehow returned to the note. The in that moment, a strong feeling arose in my gut. Immediately, I knew what the feeling meant - take down that note.
Immediately, I was reluctant and determined to ignore it. Yet as I moved to X-out of the page, the feeling remained, and I knew it would be a blatant disregard to God's will if I left it up. Against better judgment, my reaction still was along the lines of "Well, He'll get over it. Tomorrow, it won't matter."
But then God brought this verse to my heart, a verse I had came across earlier that day. Romans 14:19 - "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification."
And then He spoke to me (and I loosely quote):
"Chanelle, take down the note. You're not wrong, but it won't bring the Christian people together. Take it down."
So I did.
And it's true. It doesn't matter what I intended on fighting or how eloquently and nicely I put it. It doesn't matter how right I believe I am, or how good my intentions were in posting it, because it would've naturally caused disagreement. And though arguing has its fruits, when it gets to the point where it's pitting Christian against Christian - not just over any subject, but over God's Word, Will, and Intent - then we're teetering into something dangerous.
There's nothing wrong with a calm discussion, exploring different sides of an issues, and trying to mutually discover and derive a true meaning, whilst respecting and giving merit to each other's viewpoints. But there's a pretense set to these sort of discussions usually, and the intent is to discover as opposed to convincing.
But I had seen how other arguments on this particular subject developed - it was border-lining malicious with no sort of conceding and barely any respect. Given the subject of my note, there was a high chance that this comment section would've turned into a battlefield. As Christians, that is not what God wants from us - to be pitted against one another over a discord in beliefs, when at the heart of it, we believe in the exact same thing - the love of Jesus Christ.
Both sides were advocating for the same Lord, deriving their reasoning from the same Word, and ultimately came to a conclusion that they felt succeeded in glorifying the Kingdom. Perhaps we need to be focusing on that, because in this world, the last thing we need is a thick, black line separating the Christian community. We can argue over other things as much as we want, but I am quite certain that at least that is not God's Will for us as a body.
I am still highly bothered by some of the things expressed in recent days, but I just have to let it go. That is why I will argue no more, for the stability of our body is more important than defending my viewpoint and what it says about my relationship with God when I am quite confident in it already.
So we shouldn't judge or fight against each other - don't worry about what the other person says about a particular issue in regards to their faith in Christ and if it makes them more or less of a Christian, because the definition of a Christian is not up to us, and if a person's heart really belongs to Christ, despite his opinion on a matter - may it be wrong or right -"God is able to make him stand."
I guess it's less about making sure our specific beliefs align, but realizing that a person can, for example, believe that it is God's will that everyone has a choice (even if it is a choice that we vehemently disagree with), and still most definitely be a serious Christian, just as much as someone who dons the complete opposite standpoint, for "God has received" both. It is not that which defines our faith, but our love for the Lord and our love for others, and what we strive to do to promote both.
And if what we're doing is not out of love, then we have an issue. And I realize that the kind of arguing that I was participating in and potentially promoting was not creating an environment of love, but encouraging a divide. And that does not lead to either peace or mutual edification of the Christian body.
So I apologize for arguing. I stand by what I believe, but fact of the matter is, we've all given up our lives for the same Savior and are all trying to live according to the same purpose - His purpose, and derive our convictions, beliefs, and actions for the same Word. And that's all that matters. So instead of bickering amongst ourselves, instead "let us each be fully convinced in our own mind[s]", let's turn our focus and energy outwards in order to have a truly positive effect on this world by living our lives the right way.
For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables.
Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him.
Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.
He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord, and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.
For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.
For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.
For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
By why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
For it is written:
'As I live, says the Lord
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.'
So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way."
Romans 14:13
Given the recent dissension amongst Christians in lieu of the result of the most recent elections, I had a note prepared, delving deeper into a case I had already made, hoping to make a point. It was calmly written - it was a passionate note, but it was not an angry or accusatory one, but definitely one meant to prove a point.
I posted this note, let it settle for awhile, but in the midst of my procrastinations and distractions, I somehow returned to the note. The in that moment, a strong feeling arose in my gut. Immediately, I knew what the feeling meant - take down that note.
Immediately, I was reluctant and determined to ignore it. Yet as I moved to X-out of the page, the feeling remained, and I knew it would be a blatant disregard to God's will if I left it up. Against better judgment, my reaction still was along the lines of "Well, He'll get over it. Tomorrow, it won't matter."
But then God brought this verse to my heart, a verse I had came across earlier that day. Romans 14:19 - "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification."
And then He spoke to me (and I loosely quote):
"Chanelle, take down the note. You're not wrong, but it won't bring the Christian people together. Take it down."
So I did.
And it's true. It doesn't matter what I intended on fighting or how eloquently and nicely I put it. It doesn't matter how right I believe I am, or how good my intentions were in posting it, because it would've naturally caused disagreement. And though arguing has its fruits, when it gets to the point where it's pitting Christian against Christian - not just over any subject, but over God's Word, Will, and Intent - then we're teetering into something dangerous.
There's nothing wrong with a calm discussion, exploring different sides of an issues, and trying to mutually discover and derive a true meaning, whilst respecting and giving merit to each other's viewpoints. But there's a pretense set to these sort of discussions usually, and the intent is to discover as opposed to convincing.
But I had seen how other arguments on this particular subject developed - it was border-lining malicious with no sort of conceding and barely any respect. Given the subject of my note, there was a high chance that this comment section would've turned into a battlefield. As Christians, that is not what God wants from us - to be pitted against one another over a discord in beliefs, when at the heart of it, we believe in the exact same thing - the love of Jesus Christ.
Both sides were advocating for the same Lord, deriving their reasoning from the same Word, and ultimately came to a conclusion that they felt succeeded in glorifying the Kingdom. Perhaps we need to be focusing on that, because in this world, the last thing we need is a thick, black line separating the Christian community. We can argue over other things as much as we want, but I am quite certain that at least that is not God's Will for us as a body.
I am still highly bothered by some of the things expressed in recent days, but I just have to let it go. That is why I will argue no more, for the stability of our body is more important than defending my viewpoint and what it says about my relationship with God when I am quite confident in it already.
So we shouldn't judge or fight against each other - don't worry about what the other person says about a particular issue in regards to their faith in Christ and if it makes them more or less of a Christian, because the definition of a Christian is not up to us, and if a person's heart really belongs to Christ, despite his opinion on a matter - may it be wrong or right -"God is able to make him stand."
I guess it's less about making sure our specific beliefs align, but realizing that a person can, for example, believe that it is God's will that everyone has a choice (even if it is a choice that we vehemently disagree with), and still most definitely be a serious Christian, just as much as someone who dons the complete opposite standpoint, for "God has received" both. It is not that which defines our faith, but our love for the Lord and our love for others, and what we strive to do to promote both.
And if what we're doing is not out of love, then we have an issue. And I realize that the kind of arguing that I was participating in and potentially promoting was not creating an environment of love, but encouraging a divide. And that does not lead to either peace or mutual edification of the Christian body.
So I apologize for arguing. I stand by what I believe, but fact of the matter is, we've all given up our lives for the same Savior and are all trying to live according to the same purpose - His purpose, and derive our convictions, beliefs, and actions for the same Word. And that's all that matters. So instead of bickering amongst ourselves, instead "let us each be fully convinced in our own mind[s]", let's turn our focus and energy outwards in order to have a truly positive effect on this world by living our lives the right way.
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