Driving a Stake of Guilt
This Week's Theme: Good Friends
Patrick M. Morley
Wednesday, October 11, 2000
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Key Bible Verse: Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act (Proverbs 3:27).
Bonus Reading:Proverbs 3:28; 14:21; 17:5; Psalm 55:12-14
He really offended me. I was angry. He may have been right on the issue raised, but my feelings were so wounded that I never considered the issue, only how I'd been mishandled. I could easily have seethed and brooded over it for days.
By the next morning, I'd worked through the exchange from the previous afternoon and was content to forgive and forget. I needed no apology. I was prepared to turn the other cheek, not in any self-righteous way, but from a conviction that we're usually better off to let the little ones go.
When I saw him again, I noticed his discomfort. He blurted out, "I love you, Pat." I could see the fear of loss in his eyes. Instantly the balance of power had shifted to me. By only the slightest hesitation, I could drive a stake of guilt into him and establish a foothold of power.
I could have said, "I appreciate you saying so. I'm tied up right now, so let's talk about it later." And so I would have sinned. To withhold goodwhether a thing or an attitudewhen it is in our power to act displeases God. It's the most cunning abuse of power.
Patrick M. Morley in Walking with Christ in the Details of Life Respond:
Do you sometimes succeed at the task but fail at the relationship? Do you drive wedges to gain the upper hand? Thought to Apply:
Friendships must be kept in constant repair.
Samuel Johnson (English writer, 18th century)
Adapted from Walking with Christ in the Details of Life (Zondervan, 1990). 1 of 1
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Jesus, thank you for the blessing of friends. Give me Your love for my brothers.
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