BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. It has often been said that we do not know what goes on behind closed doors....and how true that is. We do not know how marriages are conducted behind closed doors....seemingly solid marriages could be filled with bitterness, envy , violence and strife......but a public face is put on for the world to see. No one knows these things because they are conducted in secret ...such is the shameful nature of these acts. We all tend to hide what we see as shameful and are loathe to let people know that we are being harassed and condemned .....by our fellow brothers and sisters ....behind closed doors.......in private messages. Some of us have very thick skins as this is the norm in our lives...we are used to and indeed expect such harassment and abuse...due to preaching things that not all understand or agree with. We do not always handle such abuse well...you have all seen me lose my rag.......not because of any personal remark but because the Word of God is continually dismissed, rejected and argued. Many times I have had to repent....on Faithbook and ask for forgiveness....from God and the person who I was speaking to. NO Christian has the right to be unrepentant or to not show humility....we are all to be open to correction and rebuke...from God and our fellow brothers and sisters. Then we come to those who show none of these attributes. We come to those who, on the face of it, on Faithbook, give the appearance of , and indeed state, that they are grounded in the Word, but who then set out, in a campaign of abuse and condemnation, in private messages , to intimidate, harass and condemn their brothers and sisters. One such case has been brought to my attention by a dear, dear sister ...who, on her own admission, is not a theologian ....just a believer in and a servant of Christ. This involves myself . Unbeknownst ( thats a silly word) to me , my beloved, gentle sister, was being consistently messaged by a fellow sister in the Lord simply because she liked one of my posts... a post that this person did not agree with. The nature of the messages got darker as time wore on....to the point where my sis was told I MUST QUESTION YOUR BELIEFS....WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE ? What this woman said about me, to my sister, is of no import to me...as I am big enough and ugly enough to look after myself ...but it was very distressing to my friend. She was told to choose between us....that to be neutral is a sin. This woman constantly states that she is grounded in the Word....yet many scriptures have and will jump out at me...and you...as you read those statements. Does the Word say we are to intimidate our brothers and sisters...behind closed doors...while we present a different face on Faithbook ? Are we not to consider others as more important than ourselves...and arent we to speak out of love and concern...? A rebuke and correction on error in doctrine is entirely correct...the bible tells us to do this..sometimes in private, using the Word of God to show the error. It does not say to intimidate, stress, worry OR hurt another person...in private. I speak to people in public, for all the world to see.....not behind closed doors ....unless I am contacted that way. My sister would like yall to pray about this situation. This post is being written with her full permission ...such is the hurt she has been caused. There is a way to do things. God has shown us that way, through His Word. If we disagree with anything on our timelines we are to say so....in public, upfront and above board. The post is public...so should our replies be.....especially where error is involved. Rebuke and correction can also be public....there are many, many instances of Jesus and Paul publicly rebuking error. Paul publicly rebuked a member of his congregation....in his own church. We are to have NO problem with people disagreeing with us. We learn from debate. The apostles often debated....Paul and Peter were at loggerheads over some issues. What we are NOT to do is harass, intimidate, stress and hurt others....in private, where no one else can see this behaviour....it is deceptive and dangerous. Hiding our true nature from our brothers and sisters is to portray pretence.....having an appearance of Godliness. This does NOT denote being grounded in the Word...in fact it depicts the opposite. Jesus said it simply....by their fruits you shall know them. Speak in public, debate in public, be upfront in public, show the world who you are....whether they agree with you or not. We are not children of darkness but of light. :) Your prayers will be most appreciated by this beloved sister......thank you so much. God bless you guys.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 11:27:01 +0000
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