The Greatest Self-Help Book Ever Written
Someone said something sarcastic to me the other day, as a kind of joke. It caught me up just for a moment, but it was trivial and rolled off my back. It got me thinking about how my reaction might have been different years ago, before my relationship with God solidified. Let’s just say, I recently learned that my grandfather was an amateur boxer, which explains a lot! My instinct is not to turn the other cheek. According to Paul (Galatians 5), certain life-affirming qualities grow in us as our relationship with God grows. He calls them Fruits of the Spirit: "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Who doesn’t want more of those? Paul teaches that these fruits are a byproduct of inviting Jesus into our lives and moving closer to God. Intimacy with God grows through prayer and with exposure to His Word, the Bible. You can read it, hear it preached and explore testimonies like this one, that share first-hand experiences. Here’s what’s amazing about the Bible: rather than a hard-to-comprehend, irrelevant artifact, the Bible’s ancient wisdom is perfectly applicable to what ails us today. This is what got me hooked on going to church: The Bible is the greatest self-help book ever written. Before I internalized the meaning of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection; before any consideration of eternal life- heaven, hell, and everything in between, I noticed positive changes in my life as the Word of God sunk in. In His Great Commandment (Mark 12), Jesus says: “Love God and love each other.” Friends, these fruits of the spirit are what loving each other looks like: "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." These are a few of the Scripture passages that help me stay on track: “Return no one evil for evil” (Romans 12); “Neither attack nor defend” – with the ultimate example of this being Jesus’ non-response to the accusations by Pilot at trial. And this from Paul (Ephesians 4): “Speak the truth in love.” An important reminder. You will find your own guidance in the Bible that speaks directly to your heart. A friend pointed out to me years ago that the root in Latin of sarcasm is “sarcasmus,” which means "to strip off the flesh." I think he was trying to tell me something in a very kind way. The song pairing is “Speak the Truth in Love.” Until next time, stay safe, be brave and keep walking in the light.
Speak the Truth in Love
The words that I’m saying
are better left unsaid
I should know by now
when to stop and take a breath
and speak the truth in love
speak the truth in love
the temperature’s rising
and these words coming out of my mouth
get twisted up
and turned inside out
I’ll speak the truth in love
speak the truth in love
it's not easy for me
to just keep still
but everybody knows by now
how words can kill
let’s speak the truth in love
I’ll make you a promise
I swear to keep in true
that with every word I say
I will say that I love you
I’ll speak the truth in love
speak the truth in love