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Love is Not Rude
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What Does Your Attitude Say? |
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What do you do when someone offends you? How do you treat
those in your home—your spouse and
children—when things don’t go your
way? Are you inconsiderate? Do you
yell and scream? Are you sarcastic?
Do you make insulting remarks? Do
you become rude?
As we interact with others, there
will be times in which we are
offended. The amazing thing is that
we never have to respond based on
someone else’s action. We have the
ability to choose. We can respond
based on our natural impulse, or we
can respond based on God’s love at
work in us.
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God’s love is not rude. That means that it is not offensive,
coarse, or vulgar. It does not seek to
embarrass others by pointing out their
shortcomings. It does not publicly
shame, or humiliate others. It is
natural to get angry and lash out when
offended. Our desire when we are
offended is to return the offense. Even
so, when we are offended, the Word of
God instructs us to respond in Love.
In the Holy Bible, we are given instructions for diffusing
our desire to lash out at others. We
are told to be
quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow
to become angry. The first
chapter of the book of James gives us
this practical advice in order to help
us manage our emotions and prevent
making the situation worse. We are
reminded that the anger of man does not
achieve the righteousness of God.
Whenever you feel justified to
treat others with disrespect, it’s a
good time to check yourself. Your
attitude may be a good indication that
the amount of God’s love operating in
your life is running low. The wonderful
thing about God is that we can ask for
the ability to be gracious and love
others. We have God's promise that
if
we believe, have faith, and do not
doubt, we will have whatever we ask for in prayer.
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