My job requires a certain professionalism. Rules must be followed. People must all be treated alike. But I just wondered, Why?
What I mean to ask has to do with compromise. If a person who has treated me badly comes into my jurisdiction, why should I pretend nothing has ever happened and suppress all feelings?
And why should I greet someone who has betrayed me or treated me with public contempt with a smile that says, “I don’t care what you did. You don’t have to take responsibility for your sins”.
What a quandary!
While vengeful behaviour cannot flow from us, neither can an attitude that I will make the company or system or institution which gives me money for labour look good and not love my enemy enough to urge repentance.
If I do the right thing as a habit will I not glow as the beacon of truth for my Saviour? Will people not want to destroy me because Paraclete flows out from me as both love towards salvation and judge for sin? What reason would I have to keep company with those who only drag me down, persist in harm, damage my reputation through their lies and gossip and deceit?
What a quandary!
The Bible urges the Followers of Jesus not to keep company with those who serve the destroyer. The Bible urges those same Followers to declare the News through our words and actions and attitude that God loves and saves. Yet that does not mean compromising Divine Truth for superficial friendship. I can love without becoming a friend who approves of wrongdoing for any pretext of witness.
So, no quandary really exists. Do right for the right reasons for the Right One, but do not give any impression that wrong can ever go unresolved by the Heavenly Judge.
When Paraclete leads to someone who stands ready to change their ways, eat and talk with them. Leave those who still aim to steal and kill and destroy (John 10:10) to Paraclete to work on – and just go on.
The problem arises not from the quandary, but our flabby spirituality that does not discern God’s will, our whimsical notion that we can save anybody and everybody, and a tentative relationship with Jesus that fails to take us to the people and places on God’s list for us because we stumble along doing good theology.
Philip went to one Ethiopian in the desert, not every Ethiopian (Acts 8:26-39).
Do we serve God or play God? Do we let Paraclete take us where God wants us or do we plod along the same way everyday? Are we crucified (dead to self and alive with Christ) or a zombie that merely looks alive?
Why not read The Good Book and eat some humble pie while you ponder this wonder.
May 24, 2014
nopew
viewoutsidethepew 
4 responses to “Quandary”
nopew
May 27th, 2014 at 08:24
Thank you for your affirmation and insights. This issue seemed a tough one so I risked putting it out there to check if I was at all on track or not. It is always about the will of God, as you note.
Peace
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GraceandTruth
May 26th, 2014 at 23:54
You bring up a good point in this post. Sometimes it’s hard being a Christian because we should be “loving” and forgiving everyone, and that is true. This is where we need the discerning of the Spirit to help us judge righteous judgment. I think it is as you say to ‘let Paraclete take us where He wants us’. It’s all about being led by the Spirit of God. We should forgive and love others, even when they hurt us, but we don’t have to keep company with them or be friends with them. If we are yielded to Him He will bring the right people and remove the others (even Christians) from our life – and that is sometimes necessary. 🙂
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nopew
May 26th, 2014 at 11:13
Indeed. Part of the quandary is that what God can do differs from we can do. While we strive to become more like Christ our human body has limits that God does not. yet we will ask Paraclete to keep us from hate and the worst side of the human condition. Life in Christ remains a challenge worth taking.
Peace
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StephenWhoElse
May 26th, 2014 at 10:20
A quandry I am well familiar with. God has raised the bar high on this one, and yet it is not unreachable. For He said His grace is more than enough for us.
If we fail to reach the bar, could it be we have failed to appropriate the grace given to us?
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