Speak the Truth in LOVE

John 13:34-35 "34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." Notice the last verse. How do you know a True Believer? By his love. Something to think about. Ironic how there are so many "Christians" who are anything BUT Love. 

Newsflash people! I am more apt to listen to someone whom I know loves me than I am all the "holier-than-thou" pompous arrogant.... anyway, I'm more apt to listen to people who love me than those who do not show love. Those people who do not show love just make me rebellious. I don't feel they have my best interest at heart when they try to "minister" to me. I feel they're trying to control me. So take heed that you speak the Truth IN LOVE. Because there are many of us who won't respond to anything else. 
Religion causes us to squabble over things that aren't important in the long run. We get irritated because this one does this and that one does that. Why don't we focus on the heart of the matter, why are we getting irritated? Obviously it's something within US, not them, that needs further inspection. If we investigated that aspect first, and kept our mouths shut, there'd be room for growth in all of us. Just sayin'. 

Then, if there really is a problem within them, let the Holy Spirit deal with it. I do believe He's big enough to convict them without us condemning them. Ask yourself this next time you want to judge someone: Am I really looking out for their best interest? Or am I trying to control them into doing what I want them to do? If you answer honestly and don't deceive yourself, you'll find that 9 times out of 10 the answer is control. I don't know about you, but the God I serve is big enough to provoke change in people without me getting in the way. And SHOULD He use me, I should be careful to speak the truth in Love and not hinder His working in them.

We're just mean-spirited by nature. And we don't even TRY to Love. We go by our emotions. I'm one of the guiltiest about going by my emotions. There are people out there that just seeing them rubs me the wrong way and I find it difficult to be nice to them. I still struggle with judging people and my own tendency to look past the plank in my own eye to get the speck out of theirs. I'm trying really hard to make a conscious effort to LOVE people instead of judging them. It's easier said than done; but it's something we should seriously work on. I think that's the BIGGEST commandment is to Love. It doesn't mean we have to agree with what that person says or does. It simply means we should respect them as human beings and let God have control of the situation, yielding ourselves as vessels to be used by Him to love them.