Balance in our everyday lives is crucial. We try to balance our time between family, friends, and work. Our finances are stretched between food, utilities, tithing, entertainment, and a constant barrage of advertised products. Our free time (if any!) is used watching TV, reading, exercising, vacationing, and for some, just doing nothing.
Throughout Jesus’ ministry here on earth, he teaches us to love, to accept, to treat with kindness, and to even turn the other cheek. But he also warns us to be careful of certain people and not to be mislead. The apostle Paul also tells us about terrible times coming and about people we should have nothing to do with.
So how are we to balance our actions? Accept everyone? Be suspicious of everyone? Paul gives us some guidelines. He asks us to “…be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction…”. We can certainly pray for discretion in all of this.
We are not unique in our situation. In a very personal letter, Paul lets us know of his struggle with the same thing we are dealing with. He is deserted, befriended, and even makes amends with those he has had issues with. We were never promised it would be easy, but we are promised that God is with us.
David Anderson
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Devotionals
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