Have you met a narcissistic group in which they tolerate only their own views?
As soon as someone comes in with a Biblical view the group will use "ignoring" and eventually rage to silence anyone who does not think the way they do.
In the Christian family, God commands us to speak truth from the Bible boldly.
Hebrews 3:13 "13But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. "
When the group punishes those who wish to use the Bible for the standard because it does not agree with their worldliness, this is a sign that you have witnessed an entire narcissistic system in which there is a dominant figure who pulls along all the others. The others are enablers more interested in being accepted by the group than they are in God's truth.
When the angry wicked heart carries the day in a group and all the others remain silent, we are witnessing the devil as the controller.
Rage is of the devil, when this happens we know who is behind it.
Revelation 12:12 "For this reason, rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you with great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”
The devil has come into the church and his devils dominate many gatherings today, silencing the godly ones who love the Lord.
People who walk in fear all the time about what is going on in the world are also angry people.
Ephesians 4:29
"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."
2 Timothy 1:7
"For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."
When we encounter rage because we do not think the way someone else thinks we are encountering a demon. Rational, reasonable people do not rage when there is a disagreement.
When there is rage there is no love. When we encounter continual irritation at the mention of truth, then is when it is time to walk away and pray for those who are consumed with their fear and anger.
Those who walk in the power of the Holy Spirit walk in love, God tells us what love looks like.
Galatians 5:22-23
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
1 John 4:8
"Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love."
When we see the misuse of scripture to justify sin, we are watching the devil at work.
1 Peter 4:8: Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
Ephesians 5:21: "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 1 John 4:8: Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
Corinthians 13:13: "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love."
Those who use mocking, intimidation and exclusion as a form of revenge to control others are not walking in love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away."
When we see love we know it instantly, when we see hate we also know that instantly.
When we walk in love we have no need to do revenge, intimidate, mock or control someone else's emotions.
Love is shown in those who walk in the Holy Spirit. The 1 Corinthians passage above clearly shows us what love looks like, we do not have to figure it out, God's judgment is what we repeat, not our own.
May the Lord give us discernment and may we refuse to become like those who rage hoping we will rage back. The devil wants us to become like them, diminishing our Christian witness and walk. Don't let Satan have a foothold by taking the bait.
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