Matthew 22:36-40
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
If we love God will all our heart we will obey Him. If we love people secondly we will be more concerned about whether or not they are born again and following Christ than we are about their "emotions" or "momentary feelings."
Our feelings get hurt when we are corrected, it is human nature, that's the pride that dwells in the human heart. Once we get past the feelings of hurt from being corrected, then we can move on to rational thinking that leads us to see the needed changes in our heart.
The more we grow in holiness and righteousness, the more joyful we are and the more productive for the Lord.
Cain killed Able because of jealousy. Did you know that jealousy is anger that someone else had something you wanted but couldn't have, whether that be physical things or character qualities?
Able's sacrifice was pleasing to God not because it was the right kind of sacrifice, it probably was, but because Able respected God, his heart was right with God.
Cain was not rejected by God for the wrong kind of sacrifice, it probably was, but God rejected him because his heart was evil, he did not respect God and disrespected Able for being loved by God.
We have proof that Cain did not respect God, that proof was that he killed the one that God loved, the one that loved God. The rage Cain felt led him to end the relationship between God and Able or so it was in his own mind. Killing Able did not destroy the relationship between God and Able, but it did destroy the relationships between God and Cain.
Those who demonstrate jealousy toward others have murder in their heart. Not because Cain killed Able, but because jealousy is hatred an absence of love, God says if we hate then we have murder in our hearts.
1 John 3:15
"Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."
To be angry toward someone merely because they have something we want and can't have, is hatred. When we choose not to engage in their joy with them over their accomplishment or pleasure, we are demonstrating hatred and revealing the murder that dwells in our heart.
Romans 12:15-16 " 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but enjoy the company of the lowly. Do not be conceited."
It is common for the jealous person to refrain from engaging in the emotions of others because they cannot stand that the one they are jealous of is enjoying something. If the joy is not about them, then they have a desire to ruin the happiness of those that have the joy.
Those who feel a need to be superior to others will often demonstrate jealousy. Cain wanted to be superior to Able, when he saw that he was not and that his sacrifice was not acceptable, he allowed the rage in his heart to escalate into murder.
Cain could not ruin Able because God was on Able's side, so his hatred for God and for Able caused him to commit murder out of rage, at the two who caused his pain. Raging to cause hurt or becoming stone faced is a way of killing the other person off. even if the jealous person does not actually commit murder.
Ignoring others because of jealousy or ruining whatever they accomplished are tactics that are often used by jealous people. Jealousy can only exist when there is a deep and intense self focus.
If we are to refrain from jealousy we must have our own joy based in our relationship with Christ. When Christ is our focus we do not feel a need to be superior, nor do we want what others have so much so that we are willing to destroy relationships and reputations.
Think about it! What does anyone accomplish by their jealousy? The only thing they accomplish is continual trauma in their own soul and destroyed relationships. If we find ourselves involved in jealous feelings or thoughts, then it is time to confess that sin before it ruins someone.
It is interesting to me that science is now beginning to realize that a person's heart actually thinks, the brain is only a part of the thinking that we do. When we believe God, we can know the truth without scientific evidence, but its always exciting when the scientists finally discover what the Bible had been telling us all along.
Psalm 51:10
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."
Ezekiel 36:26
"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."
Jeremiah 17:9
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"
Proverbs 4:23
"Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."
Matthew 5:8
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
Yes, what an exciting day for Noah when he saw God fulfilling what He said He would do. Noah must have lost lots of family members in that flood, but he never invited them to come aboard or built the ark bigger to accommodate them. He merely obeyed God. He preached before the wrath of God came and accepted the fate of those who refused to repent.
I was listening to a video this morning on the principle of programming an animal to do something, in regard to how people can also be programmed.
B.F. Skinner did an experiment with pigeons. He allowed the pigeons to press a button and a treat would come out. When they pushed the button and nothing came out they would leave after several tries.
However if they pushed the button a few times and the treat came out randomly, every other time or after three pushes, the pigeon would remain pushing until a treat would come. They would stay there and continue to push even though they never knew how many times a treat would emerge.
This is the principle of the gambling industry, if they allow the customer to win at the slot machines a little in the beginning and randomly after, then the person will stay even when nothing is coming out. They will put in their coins continually as long as there is some reward at some time, even if its small because in their minds the next one might be the big one.
People at the gambling houses in front of the slot machines are "pigeons" because they have been programmed to keep trying even when nothing is coming out. "The Royal We"
This is the same with relationships, a narcissist can treat us very badly several times in a row, but if they sneak in a little niceness once in awhile, we remain hoping for the next time that they will show a little friendliness. They only display friendliness, not kindness, they are two different things. When they think our guard is down and they have sucked us back in, they will begin their dastardly actions and reactions all over again.
We don't have to be like pigeons, unless we were bird brains. We have enough thinking power to decide whether or not we want to be continually abused by those who get pleasure out of demeaning and mocking those they wish to dominate.
I promise, it is better to be alone with God than to remain with an abuser simply to keep from being lonely. But we don't have to be without people. Pray that the Lord will bring you to others who agree on important matter and value you, is the best course of action. There are plenty out there who would love and value you, even if only on facebook.
There is a wonderful place, that place is the place of peace dwelling with Christ. He will bring others into your life when He is ready for us to have human companions. One good friend is enough, crowds don't usually foster close relationships, it is best to hold out for the deeper relationships that help us grow and want what we have to offer too.
Proverbs 18:24 "A man of too many friends comes to ruin,
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."
Each person must find their own path. We will be judged on whether we follow Christ or man. If we obey Christ we will be blessed in our soul, if we obey man we will be in bondage to man's rules.
If your spouse is not obeying God, then we must even if we do that alone.
Revelation 14:12
"12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those[a] who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."
The fruit of the Spirit are character qualities not actions. The character qualities will produce attitudes and actions pleasing to God, but the real fruit is in the character.
Galatians 5:22-23
"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
May the Lord be the One doing all the work in us. What we do in our own flesh out of our own pride does not count and is not pleasing to our Lord.
He loves for us to trust in Him to work in us.
Ephesians 2:10
"10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
