Just a Thought...

    So for the past two weeks I have been attending a women’s bible study on Tuesday mornings.  This has been such a blessing to me as I have longed for fellowship and community for so much of this year.  Anyway, as I sit in these weekly meetings I tend to make notes for myself on my phone of little things that stick out to me or questions that arise in me from our group discussions.  I guess I should, in ­­reality, be sharing some of these thoughts and ideas with the group (and some I do!), but one benefit of writing them down for myself, is that it gives me time to really think and process what I really feel before saying something in response that I don’t really agree with (which sometimes happens still).  This morning, towards the end of my personal notes, I wrote a question….” What is more important, being loving or being right?  And is there ever a time when it’s most loving to prove a point?”. 
  Personally, I like to be right (in fact there is a running joke in my family that my 3 favorite words are “You Are Right”), but I honestly cannot bring myself to the place of believing that pointing out a Bible verse that contradicts someone else’s lifestyle or intellectually pointing out the flaws in someone else’s beliefs, will ever lead that person into a relationship with Jesus Christ.  I don’t think people can be “won” into the kingdom based on our good arguments or personal perspectives.  In fact, I don’t even believe that it’s even US who can “save” anyone (that’s God’s job).  That’s not to say that there’s never a time to speak up or to speak into someone’s life…. But rather, I think it’s important that as we do, that we are sure that we are speaking out of a place of love…as opposed to obligation, guilt, or even a need to be right.
  Which brings me back to that question I wrote in my notes….what is the loving thing to do?  My immediate response is that it’s always better to be loving than to be right, as love conquers all and in fact God is love.  But that doesn’t really address the question of what is more loving? Is it more loving to speak the truth to prove the “Christian” point, or is more loving to keep our mouth shuts and let our lives lead others to their own conclusions? And I guess the best response I can come up with is this… it depends on the leading of the Holy Spirit.
  Often times I think I know what’s best and I think that it’s my obligation to make sure I share that opinion.  But the reality is I don’t really know anything in and of myself…. I am completely dependent on God for all truth and all reality.  Thus it would only make sense that God, who actually does know everything (including the in’s and out’s of how we all individually operate, think and feel), would also know the best way to respond in any given situation.  Therefore, the logical conclusion, would be for me to allow Him to take the lead and thus follow Him (Hum.  It seems like Jesus said something like that in the Bible at least a few times).
  So I guess the better question I should be asking is not, “What is the most loving thing to do?” but rather , “What is God saying?”.  Maybe if we spent more time snuggling up to the heart of Jesus and following His heart beat, instead of trying to get people to believe what we do, we would actually see "His Kingdom come and His Will be done, on earth as it is in heaven"!.  Just a thought...