Posts by Wayne Stiles on the topic of relationships.
You can live better than your parents did.
Or you can live worse. It’s true.
Growing up in a godly home is no guarantee you’ll follow God. But it’s also true that a godless home doesn’t doom you to a failed life.
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I know of one young man who had as his goal to be a better father than his father was to him. And he did it.
But then he realized that wasn’t enough.
Being better than your parents is doable, sure, but it’s the wrong goal.
I never thought the Lord’s Prayer would relate to anger.
That’s probably because we usually associate the prayer with that flowery, feel-good moment in a service when we all pray the words together (though we’re never real sure whether to say “debts” or “trespasses”).
But the prayer relates to anger?
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It relates especially when we find ourselves asking, Why am I angry all the time? Especially in my relationships?
It’s tough to see the Lord’s prayer helping much with anger. But it does.
Here’s how.
I’m always amazed how some couples have no problem fighting in public.
Once I stood in the popcorn line at the movies and the couple in front of me were arguing. In this case, the man was way out of line.
I wanted to take his popcorn, soft drink, and hot cheesy nachos and dump them down his pants.
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Some people are, well, just flat unlovable. On good days we call them “jerks.” On bad days we’re tempted to cross the line and be jerks right back at them.
It’s for those days the Scriptures urge us:
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. . . . If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath. —Romans 12:17–19
Sometimes this command seems impossible with jerks. And honestly?
It is.
Only with God’s help can you deal with the jerks in your life.
The world makes promises it can’t keep.
It says the reason we’re unhappy is that we just haven’t found the right whatever yet.
The right spouse, the right hairdo, the right salary, the right entertainment system, the right church, the right pastor, the right Bible, the right seminar, ad infinitum . . . ad nauseam.
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You don’t have to be without Jesus to fall into the trap. Even those of us who do believe in Jesus can chase those shadows.
But God won’t let us hide from reality. He loves us too much.
The connection between between the first steps we take in making a decision and its final outcome often seems unrelated.
Walking the path of wisdom or the way of foolishness has domino effects far greater than we can imagine.
(Photo by Indy Kethdy. CC-BY-SA-2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
For us, a disciplined intake of Scripture certainly promises wisdom. But wisdom offers a course of action, not just a course of instruction. (Tweet that.)
The book of Proverbs reveals the outcome of the pathways we are walking.
And it tells us how to stay on the path of wisdom.
In my previous post, I wrote about a Christian’s struggle with sin and 4 lies we believe about our sin.
Let’s take it a step further.
(Photo by Tech. Sgt. Dan Neely. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
In addition to taking a defensive mindset against the lies we often believe, we need to take an active approach to sin and temptation.
Here are 4 basic strategies to help you battle the tug of temptation and sin on your heart.
Everybody sins. But when we Christians do it, reactions vary.
The world points to us as hypocrites—and often uses our sins as justification for their own. Other Christians tend to view our sins as reasons to suggest we aren’t even saved.
(Photo by Bigroger27509. Own work. CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
But the people who offer the most brutal judgment against our sins?
Very often, it’s ourselves.
That’s because Christians struggling with sin tend to believe four lies.
Early one morning I hopped in my car and inserted the key in the ignition. When I cranked it—I kid you not—the car made the sound: “Ugh.”
So I figured it was just the weather, and I pulled out the jumper cables. But two days later, the car sang the second verse of the same song: “Ugghhh.”
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Later that day, my auto mechanic gave a simple diagnosis: I needed a new battery.
Now, I could have said: “Hey, you know, a car starting every other day isn’t so bad. It sure beats walking. I guess I don’t need a battery.”
Guess again. I bought a battery—a big one. If my vehicle runs inconsistently, it’s of little value to me. At the same time, keeping the car running reliably comes down to one thing: it costs me.
The same is true of our spiritual lives.
The trouble with most of us,” someone once said, “is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.”
That’s really true. Go ahead, ruin me.
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The truth is, we can work ruin by either extreme:
Words that compliment and words of criticism both strike like arrows, and they seldom miss their mark.
But the huge difference between them can be surprising.
Imagine with me you have a child—and only one.
The delivery had complications, but the child lived. So you name him Nathaniel—“given of God.”
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While recovering at home, you begin the ritual every three hours of feeding little Nathaniel and rocking him while he screams through fits of colic. Without missing one feeding, or letting one diaper go unchanged, or any needs unmet, you never give up because you know your child would literally die without your care.
And as Nathaniel grows, you teach him to walk, change the soiled sheets, and work hard to buy new clothes he’ll outgrow. He starts to drive and you bite your nails until he comes home. Every new stage presents a new set of sacrifices, but you never give up because you love Nathaniel.
The day he drives off to college represents a milestone in your parenting, and you stand proud of what God has made of Nathaniel.
You have no idea that things are about to change.
I love connecting the Bible and its lands to life. This is my personal blog where that happens. Here's some more about me . . .
WAYNE STILES
Hi, my name is Wayne Stiles, and I love connecting the Bible and its lands to life. This is my personal blog where that happens. My goal is to deliver practical content to encourage you in your relationship with God. I believe that a life lived well needs a growing and intentional connection with God through Jesus Christ. I write on the devotional life, Bible lands, understanding the Bible, and resources I have found helpful on these topics.
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