Previously I wrote about lost people acting like lost people, but what do we do when Christian people act like lost people? This is something that has really bothered me lately. I have come to a place where I can handle rash, irresponsible and down-right stupid behavior from people that do not know God. If the fear (respect and awe) of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and these people don’t fear God then they haven’t begun to be wise; so I am ok with this. What I have a hard time handling is when people that claim to know God act the way lost people do. Let me give you an example, my work place. At my job most of the people I work with are not Christians. They show favoritism, they lie, steal, cheat, gossip, and a host of other unseemly things. However, there are a few people that claim to be Christians; however they do the same thing. As a matter of fact, the one person that I know to be the most disliked universally at my work place claims to be a Christian. There are over two thousand people at my work, there are a lot to choose from, but out of the hundreds of people I know here, this one person is the most hated. I know hate is a strong word, but many people say they hate this person. I used to be angry with this person but I made peace with God and with them (as best as I could) a month or two ago. I sat down with them, explained that I had treated them unfairly, entertained gossip about them, and wronged them. I asked for their forgiveness and explained that even though I didn’t agree with them in every area (I actually don’t agree with them on much at all) that I would respect their position and pray for them more. I have since had to stop some conversations or tell people that I didn’t want to talk about him, but I have been faithful to my word. And let me tell you, as I reread what I wrote I made it sound easy, but it wasn’t. This person has made me very angry in the past over some issues, but God brought me to a place where I realized that no matter what anyone else does or says that I am responsible for me, not them, what I say, not what they say. I am responsible for my actions and even my actions in response to their negative actions, but still just my actions. So there are still times that I disagree with this person but it is really a freeing feeling when you just do the best you can do and know that it will be ok, God knows what is going on and He is big enough to take care of the situation.

I will close with a thought. I use to wonder why God hated pride the most out of everything; I mean besides the obvious reasons. The older I get and the more I see in life, I realize that I can not find any wrong doing, thinking, saying, or whatever that does not come from pride. My issues with this person all come from pride in one way or another. Either I don’t think they did something that way I would have, as if to say my way is always better or they shouldn’t be in job position that they are in, as to say that I could do a better job or finally that God doesn’t know what He is doing, as to say that I know better than God. God forgive me for the times I think I know, better than Him, what needs to be done.