The desert stretches out for miles, and the golden glare of the sand burns the eyes. The throat is parched and the tongue sticks to the roof of the mouth. Then someone speaks, and the hope rises that his words will quench the unbearable thirst. Once the flow of thought streams from his mouth to your ears, your spirit drinks up, and only then do you realize that the water was poison. For such are the words that flow from a bitter well, from a cynical and judgmental heart. For, you see, the source of that stream is proud and arrogant.Luke6.45
That source builds for himself an artificial mountain, an exalted position, a position that belongs solely to God. And from his supposed height, he releases a poisonous stream that trickles down to the innocents around him. He thinks of himself as wise and passes decrees as if he was judging on God's behalf. He imagines that he sits upon God's mountain, but in his very thoughts and from the very depths of his heart, he opposes the God he thinks he helps.James4.6 He thinks he is in a place to critique and correct others, but it is he who desperately needs correction. And when correction comes, what then?
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Words come, this time like a scalpel excising a cancer, or like fresh water that pours into his bitter well and displaces poisonous thoughts. These words cut into his heart and make his entire being feel like bursting, for they reveal his arrogant crimes against God and humanity. These are words that humble and convict. For such are the words of correction and loving rebuke.
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So, what next? What do I do once someone I respect tells me to shape-up? Simple. I change my mind.repent Love. Care. And serve.
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Read through following text carefully. Meditate on each word before proceeding to the next.
Patient.
Kind, and not jealous.
Doesn't brag
Not arrogant.
Not rude.
Doesn't pursue its own way.
Not easily provoked.
Not resentful.
Doesn't rejoice in wrongdoing.
Rejoices in the truth.
Bears all things. Believes all things.
Hopes all things. Endures all things.
Never fails.
That's love.
For when we see it, hope is no longer necessary. And when the promise is fulfilled, faith is no longer needed. All that remains is love.
from 1 Corinthians 13
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The difference between confidence and arrogance is that confidence is compatible with love.
