Friend or Foe?
“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. ”
I named this blog post “Friend or Foe?” because I wanted to clarify that we are all more than just friends, we are brothers and sisters in Christ. We only have one enemy, our adversary the devil.
Have you ever noticed when someone is friendly kind and seemingly genuine one week and then the following week you see them again and all of a sudden they are the complete opposite?
Now they are keeping things short, or they are not speaking to you at all. Their demeanor is now obviously different. This is a sign that your friend is going through some things when it comes to their walk with God. They are experiencing their own internal conflict and it may cause them to struggle to be genuinely happy for you.
Don’t take this personally. Just keep them in your prayers. I know all too well how much it hurts and even myself being very sensitive, I’ve shed my tears for these individuals out of the pain they caused me. But I think about Jesus. He is the Messiah to the Jews and they crucified Him, and to this day some Jews still do not recognize Jesus as God. I think about how much sorrow and pain the Lord went through seeing His own people denying Him. What more can I expect from my brothers and sisters if Jesus went through it?
THE PERFECT EXAMPLE
Jesus came and lived the perfect example for us to follow. He said for us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. He called us His friend. Isn't it an amazing feeling that Jesus longs for you to be His friend?!
“Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
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The word of God tells us how important everyone is. That everyone we encounter is our brother and sister whether they are saved or not saved. We are to see every individual as Christ sees them.
If we struggle with this, we are to pray for the Lord to soften our heart. Whenever I feel badly about one of my brothers or sisters I go into prayer. I make myself transparent before Jesus and I explain how they make me feel and I pray “Lord Jesus help me see this person the way you see them. Show me the love you have for them. Teach me to love them.” Repeat this prayer with goodness in your heart and really seek for the Lord to move in the situation.
PEOPLE WILL BE PEOPLE
In life, you will learn that no matter where you go people will be people. Most individuals have someone they can talk to about all of life’s problems. There are many who don’t understand that Jesus wants us to take all of our problems to Him (only) and leave it with Him.
The closer you get to Jesus the less you’ll share with people. It’s time for us to trust Jesus as the God that He is. We need to stop trusting people to do or say what we expect the Lord to do and say. Most people just aren't qualified.
In the Bible, there are many promises. One of these promises are that we will be hurt by others (our brothers and sisters). This includes our blood family and even our closest friends. As humans we cannot please everyone and we are going to disappoint people, sometimes not even realizing it. This is why you can never go wrong by praying and seeking God about all of life’s decisions. He can clean up my messes better than I can.
“[It is] better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.”
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
BE NEUTRAL
“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works...”
Remain neutral when it comes to any bad mouthing about one of your brothers and sisters. Even if the rumor is about you, remain neutral. Don't be offended. The devil is constantly trying to divide and conquer the body of Christ (the church). When we feed into his demonic influences, all it takes is for one bad seed to be planted in one’s mind, we open the door for him and the chaos unravels causing drama, bitterness, and ultimately division.
When people talk badly about you behind your back, just understand this is the plan of the enemy. Whenever you hear gossip or backbiting turn away from it. My pastor always says the best response to someone who comes to talk badly about one of your brothers or sisters, is to offer to pray for that person together on the spot. When you start hearing the conversation go south just stop them and say, “Hey, let’s pray for that person.” It works every time. That individual just wanted to indulge in a hateful act due to being influenced by the evil spirits. If it doesn't line up with God and His Word then it is NOT of God.
One preacher mentioned that whatever people do against you, they would have done against Jesus Himself. What he means is if they can treat you poorly, then how capable is the same individual to show love to Jesus if they were to meet Him in the flesh? Keeping this in the forefront of your mind with your own actions can help you stay Christ-minded throughout your day as you deal with others.
“To him that is afflicted pity [should be shewed] from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.”
ONE ENEMY
The only enemy you have as a Christian is the devil himself.
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
This is not to say that those who rail against you are possessed by demons, rather they are influenced by the evil spirits. Whenever someone is yelling at you, or coming against you in an ungodly, uncivilized manner, they are influenced by the devil. They are not your enemy. Look passed the offense and see them how Jesus sees them. Find forgiveness and compassion in your heart for the individual.
I’m talking about church-goers as well. The seasoned saints are the ones that can hurt you the most. You trust and respect them and you view them as wise and innocent. If they make a mistake in their own lives (even if it is not related to you in any way) somehow learning about their imperfections may bring you down. It’s possible your expectations for them to be so much like Jesus were unrealistic. The people that come against you are not your enemy they are your brothers and sisters in Christ.
Through it all, we all know Jesus is the victor. The battle was already won. We must trust Jesus with everything. He is our True Friend that will never let us down. He came down and died on the cross for our sins. You must know that today He is calling you to the ministry. He wants you to seek Him until you find Him. He longs for us to indulge in righteousness and holiness and for us to live in obedience to His Word.
“10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
