Sometimes, I just want to quit on people. I trust God well enough, but people can be really fickle. They go from good to bad in an instant. They go from friend to enemy just a quick. People are not nearly as trustworthy as God is. I can hold on to Him when I want to quit, but them...I don't know.
It gets even worse when those people are closest to me. My parents aren't happy with the life choices I've made. My wife and I fighting...and the kids can see it. My kids want to do things I won't let them do and they can't see its for their own good...so they take their friends' advice and start the countdown to age 18 when I "can't boss them around anymore." When can I quit? I just want to give up. I want to quit caring...but something inside keeps bugging me. It sounds something like this:
And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives. (Jude 1:22-23 NLT)
Yeah, people sin. They screw up. They even purposefully try to hurt me. But God is that "something inside" that keeps bugging me. He doesn't want me to quit. He want's the junk I'm going through to burn off the impurities in my life like I talked about yesterday. Then, He wants me to work to help them...showing mercy, rescuing, and being cautious so that their sin doesn't "contaminate" my life.
It's kind of like being a life guard. When someone is drowning, you throw them a flotation device. Then, if that doesn't work, you go out to help them with your own flotation device. If they keep wanting to fight you, stay far enough away that they don't pull you under, but close enough that you can grab them when they wear out and go under themselves. I don't save anyone from drowning if I drown.
I don't know. It sounds like too much work.
Maybe I just need to fight that nagging feeling that "keeps bugging me."
Then I could quit caring.Should I quit caring?
If we all gave up, where is the hope?
ReplyDeleteJesus didn't give up on us no matter what he went through. I try to keep that in mind when I'm being beat down by people, work, tasks or myself.
Some pretty smart guy taught me helpful learning tools. I should give you his name. THANKS!
;)
ReplyDeleteYes people will hurt us and are not trustworthy. But, we are people and we too have hurt others and have broken our trust with people by our actions and our words. We ask God for forgiveness, we even sometimes ask those we have hurt for forgiveness and start on a long journey towards regaining trust. This journey can be tiresome and sometimes feel hopeless. Like my dear friend Jeni mentioned above, “where is the hope?”. “Our hope comes from the Lord”; I don’t know if that line comes from the scriptures, but it is from a famous song. Since God made all people and Jesus came for all people, we must not give up on people, because just as we look for forgiveness, so do others. One important factor to remember is that people are different, so they may never ask forgiveness in what we deem to be the right way. Also, we must not let one person who is not seeking forgiveness or redemption, stop us from caring for the rest of the flock.
ReplyDeleteHere are some of scriptures I picked out from a list I got when I did a google search on "What does the Bible say abour Caring" (http://www.openbible.info/topics/caring):
If we are to be disciples of Jesus Christ, we must do as He commands us to do in.
In John 13:34, Jesus gives us a new commandment; He says, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
We can Love one another by caring for one another.
In his letter to the Galatians, Paul writes- “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.” Galatians 6:9-10
Another Bible verse I found on Caring is “But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.” 1Timothy 5:4 Here we learn that caring for our own family is pleasing to God. As a disciple of Jesus, I most definitely do not want to give up caring but keep on “Caring” because it pleases our Father in Heaven.
We see further in 1 Timothy 5:8 – “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
We don’t want to be worse than an unbeliever, so as Jesus has commanded us to do, we will love one another and be pleasing in the eyes of our God. For God has already shown us His great love for us through His son Jesus.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16
If we are to be disciples of Jesus, we must overcome our personal hurts and feeling that people inflict on us.
So my friend, my brother “if you don’t give up caring, I won’t.”
Well said, Shirley. Let's keep going!
ReplyDelete