Christian Living
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned." Luke 6:37
People wrong us, but God wants us to forgive them. It can be hard to do. I find it hard to do with some people who have wronged me, taken advantage of me, used me. But harboring resentment hurts us and our relationship with God. We sin, we wrong others, and God forgives us.
As we are santified, during our life long process when we become more Christlike, we learn to forgive others. God did not hold our sin against us and reconciled Himself to us.
"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:31-32
People should be held accountable for the wrong they do, and we should not enable them. We shouldn't go along just to get along. Jesus did not give the money changers at the temple a pass; he turned their tables over and clearly let them know what they were doing was wrong.
Jesus saves; He does not condemn.
Who will throw the first stone?
The Pharisees rounded up a prostitute and wanted to stone her. As the story goes, Jesus challenged the Pharisees and told them whoever is without sin, throw the first stone. There were no takers and they walked away. Jesus told the woman He forgave her but told her to stop sinning.
For three and a half years, I've been hanging with the homeless and unofficially advocate for them, through my blogs, talking to them and to various officials in Bucks County, Pa. Some of them have been homeless off and on and others just hang out with them. I was perturbed and saddened when I heard that a homeless woman and another woman ganged up on another homeless woman. A woman in a wheelchair held the victim while the homeless woman pulverlized the other homeless woman, hospitalizing her, damaging her eye so badly she may lose vision in one eye.
Word on the street is that the woman in the wheelchair was angry at the victim because she was hitting on her husband, and in the past, claimed she had committed adultry with him, which is dubious. She had attacted the woman before, while in a wheelchair! The other woman, as word has it, didn't like the victim announcing that a guy in their community got busted for DUI.
I don't know the homeless woman who did the punching, but I know the one in the wheelchair. I lived with her and her husband at her father-in-law's house. In exchange for free rent, I took her and her husband, who was handicapped for a time, to doctor's appointments, shopping, took them and their pets to the vets, and did other errands. They were gluttons and materialistic and took advantage of me, turning me into their slave. The final straw came after they wanted me to take them shopping two days after our weekly shopping and I refused. The wheelchair thug told me "Daddy" (father-in-law) was going to pick up lunchmeat, the main reason for shopping again so soon. Shortly thereafter, the old man kicked me out because he said I wasn't doing my job to take the couple shopping.
After I got kicked out, the wheelchair thug told a lie to a mutual friend - that they needed to go shopping again so soon because I was in a hurry and they didn't finish their shopping.
After the wheelchair thug repeatedly tried to con me that it wasn't her fault I got kicked out, she asked me how my friend with cancer was doing. "What do you care?," I quipped, "all you care about is feeding your face at other people's expense." After that, she left me alone, until, one night at a community meal, convinced I was talking about her, from more than 100 feet away, she started screeming obsenities then wheeled towards me, continuing the obsenities, said "if you have something to say about me, say it to my face" and then she kicked me, just brushing the side of my thigh, not hurting me, almost falling off her wheelchair. She didn't understand why I involuntarily laughed at her.
It's very easy to condemn people like the wheelchair mugger and the homeless woman who helped mug the victim. On my homeless blog, I condemned the mugging, but in my mind, I struggle not to condemn the muggers.
I remember that it's not right, figuratively, to throw stones at the muggers. As I've said on my blogs, what they did, and that nobody there tried to stop the mugging and are not willing to testify, hurts the homeless community.
Those thugs need to be brought to justice for mugging the woman. But after calling out this wrong and crying out for justice, it's now up to the Lord to deal with them. Vengence is mine, sayeth the Lord.
This calls to mind the story of Jonah. God told Jonah to minster to the decadent folks in Ninevah. Jonah flagged God and went the other way. He went on a ship and a storm rocked the ship. After it was realized Jonah caused the storm, he was jettisoned and was swallowed by a whale.
Inside the whale, Jonah got to think about his attitude and his disobedience to God. He repented and asked God to guide him. Jonah returned to Nineveh and the town repented and turned to God and from their evil ways.
Jonah, however, didn’t like God’s compassion for the wicked city.
Jonah had written off Nineveh as a lost cause and wanted the people destroyed. God didn’t.
God, not Jonah was the judge of Ninevah. Likewise, I am not the judge of the homeless muggers.
Jonah couldn't wait to see Ninevah destroyed, even though the people repented and turned back to God. But God delt with Jonah and Jonah finally learned to do things God's way.
A homeless guy once told me that when I wear my black poncho, I look like Darth Vader. Jokingly, I said that I crossed over to the dark side. Instead of helping the homeless, I lead the authorities to the homeless campsites in the woods, leading a wrecking crew to destroy the camps, as the Galactic Empire did with the AT-AT walkers, the four-legged transport and combat vehicles that resemble dinosaurs to stamp out the Rebel Alliance in two of the Star Wars movies.
With members of the Bucks County homeless community creating problems, I don't feel like ministering to them anymore and sometimes welcome a homeless wrecking crew. God gave me a hatius. I've been spending my time ministering to Sandi, who has cancer, in the nursing home. I guess this is my time out in the whale.
My job is to speak the truth in love, it's for God to work in people's hearts and change them, including the homeless muggers and other members of the suburban ganstas in Bucks County.
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I really enjoyed this article.
Many do not realize that when one forgives, they are released from the burden of carrying hate and desire for revenge within their heart. This can really enslave one, and can lead to health issues. The heart and soul are truly refreshed when we let go and give it over to God. Our heart and soul feel the warmth of the Spirit guiding us. Letting one know that they are forgiven takes away power from the one being forgiven to continue their ways. If they continue in their evil ways, they will answer to the Lord. You are correct, as the Lord says "Vengance is mine sayeth the Lord." We can condemn an evil act, but it is not ours to condemn the person. God truly rewards those who forgive. We have been forgiven much. We have salvation through Christ. Why would we wish to give up what we have been given by holding on to ill feelings toward those who have wronged us? We must be like Christ.
Keep up your writing for the Lord. He smiles pleasingly down upon you!
Roland