It is Christmas season and one of my favorite movies is the Christmas Carol or Scrooge. There are many versions and I think they are all good.
The reason I brought this up is because I am thinking that I am like Scrooge. I give money pretty freely, but it is my heart that I do not.
In the movies, Scrooge’s heart is softened to the point where he becomes an exceptional man at the end. He gives from his heart because of his love for others. I however, have noticed that my heart is hardened somewhat towards my fellow man. I am reminded of this verse:
Ephesians 6:12 New International Version (NIV)
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
While these words came from God, I have convinced myself that they are not 100% true. I know, I know, if the words came from God, then how can they be wrong? Of course they are not, but I have allowed Satan to convince me they are. So let me try to explain my logic. Man has decided to listen to Satan. No one forced man to do this, but we have chosen to do so. Since man has decided to listen to Satan, then how can they not be part of the problem?
The problem comes in my interpretation of the scripture and interjection of my thoughts. God has never said that man is not at fault. He however has said that man is weak and easily influenced. Think about the Jews and their leaders. There were good leaders and there were bad leaders and the people just followed.
Remember that no one comes to power except through God. God never said that He was going to only put good or great leaders in charge. In fact, God will typically allow whatever leader we want. It is however up to us to decide if this leader is doing what is right or evil in the eyes of the Lord and if we should continue to follow him. God has said follow our leaders, but when they violate scripture, that is a totally different matter. At that point we have a choice, continue to follow our leader or to follow God.
While I slightly digressed, it was to show my point of view which is completely screwed up. Take today as an example, a person ahead of me let someone out of the bank parking lot. I blew my horn and threw my hands up in the air as though they could understand or even care about my frustration. They just waved and pointed to the car they were letting out as though that was acceptable. There were 4 to 5 people behind this person and by them letting someone else out, there was a good chance that one or more may not make the light. I followed them for a point, put down my window, and called them a “Rude Prick”. I am sure in their mind they were being nice to the one person without realizing how rude they were to 4 or 5 others.
Is the point to demonstrate how oblivious people are to their surroundings? Absolutely not! It is about me and they way I reacted. How could have I reacted? I could have just done nothing since it really was not going to make a difference. I could have tried to behave like Christ. However, I am not sure how Christ would have reacted in this situation. I do know He would have loved them even though He may have been mad. Is what I did demonstrating love? I would argue the answer is “No”.
I want God to soften my heart. No matter how hard I try, I cannot do it on my own. God needs to give me a new heart:
Ezekiel 36:26-27 New International Version (NIV)
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Here is the important question for you,”Is your heart hardened towards your fellow human?”. You need to really analyze yourself to answer this. I bet some will be deceive yourself and answer yes when it is not or you will answer no when it is. Please take this time to pray and communicate with God to really get the answer.