Overcomers

Whenever people say hurtful things to us, our tendancy is to want to defend ourselves and pay them back. We may be tempted to react out of our feelings rather than respond in love. Scripture instructs us about what to do in these situations.

Overcome Evil With Good
"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21)." If we respond to evil with evil, we worsen the problem. If we are going to overcome evil, we must respond in love. This requires action on our part. Evil is not overcome by silence. We must overcome evil by blessing the very people who are mistreating us. "Bless those who pursecute you; bless and do not curse." Romans 12:24

Act In Love
"Let all that you do be done in love (1 Corinthians 16:14)." We are never permitted by Scripture to act out of our feelings. We must act in love. First Corinthians chapter thirteen is a good Biblical deffinition of love. Love is essential to honoring Christ because love is the fulfillment of the law.

Do Not Retaliate
"Never pay back evil for evil to anyone... (Romans 12:17a)." The world's idea of justice is retaliation. However, retaliating is not the same thing as seeking justice. "Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written,'VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,' says the Lord (Romans 12:19)."

Seek to Reconcile 
We should, "[Be] diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Ephesians 4:3 When others speak unkind things to us, we must examine what they are saying, and if we have done anything wrong we should repent and ask for forgiveness. Whatever the problem is, we should seek to restore our relationship with the person.

Love wants to reconcile. 
Pride retaliates.

May we be overcomers!

The Opposite of Love

Love is placing another higher than yourself and laying down your rights for that person. The opposite of love is not hate but pride. Pride places the self above all others. Pride causes us to seek our own good and pleasure above others' good and pleasure. You don't have to hate someone to not love them. You do not love someone if you love yourself more.

"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

This is what Christ has done for us. He loved us more than His own life. Christ is the ultimate example of love, and His work on the cross is the chief display of love. May we know and understand the love of Christ, and may His love transform our hearts so that out of love we will,"count others more significant than [ourselves]." Philippians 2:3

The Reversed Effect of Self Esteem Building

It is commonly taught by psychologist that those who are insecure need to boost their self esteem. This however does not produce the desired affect. Insecurity is not caused by a lack of confidence one's self, but it is caused by placing too much confidence in yourself. Security in a being so unreliable, sinful, and constantly changing as one's self is destined to cause insecurity. It is only when all our confidence is in God that we can truly be secure. He never changes, and He knows everything. He is good, and we can trust Him. We don't need more confidence in ourselves. We need more confidence in God.