10 Mar 2010, Posted by spittingimage in General, No Comments.

Who is your brother?

Hate or Love

1 John 2:9Anyone who claims
to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. 10Whoever
loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him[c] to make
him stumble. 11But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks
around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the
darkness has blinded him.”

Does this mean if someone
doesn’t like me that they hate me? What
if someone continually attacks me and/or my character? How about this, if
someone continues to be a thorn in your side?
What about if you find yourself under spiritual attack and you try and
identify that attack to a person? Does
this give me a right to hate my brother?
Absolutely not, if I am under trial or tribulation, which could be from
a co-worker (or a brother in the church) should I automatically assume that the
problem lies with them and not with me?

How can we tell who is right or wrong? I
mean, seriously, if I am a ministry leader shouldn’t I always be right? If I am reading the word of God everyday and
praying often, doesn’t that mean that the other person must be wrong? Do you hate your brother? Let me be specific, is there someone in your
church, mini church, neighborhood or workplace that is causing you to
stumble? That is causing you to hate
them? Can you justify that
position? If so, then re-read 1 John
2:9-11, and then re-ask the question.
Seriously, Galatians 6 tells us that we should test ourselves and only
ourselves. The Book of James tells us
that through trial and tribulation we build perseverance and through perseverance
we build maturity. Spiritual Maturity,
we find in Hebrews 5 & 6, gives us the ability to immediately discern good
from evil.

So where should you go to
find out who is right and wrong: 1)
Scripture 2) Prayer 3) Leaders in your
church 4) Accountability Partners (which may include your wives if you are married) and 5) Galatians 5 – that is, are you bearing
fruit of the Spirit or Fruit of the Sinful Nature. Scripture is very clear between the two. You cannot possibly be walking in the light
if you are bearing fruit from both.

So now what? Do you hate your brother? Do you hate your sister? Are these questions penetrating to the
soul? If so, repent, ask God to direct
you in the right course and pray for forgiveness.

And remember, God is good all
the time. All the time God is good.