Let The Faithful Correct Me

I was getting ready to print individual pages of a document and when typing in which numbered pages I wanted printed, I accidentally typed a letter instead of a number. A warning popped up which said, "Unacceptable character." It caught me off guard at first because I didn't know what I had done to get the warning, but then I chuckled when I thought how interesting it would be if that popped up when our personality flaws reared their ugly heads. You know, when we say that cuss word we shouldn't have. When we gossip. When we're jealous. When we selfishly put ourselves before others. When we lie. When we have a short fuse. When we're impatient. The list goes on. During those moments, we could hear a whisper in our ear: "Unacceptable character."

The things is, we know what unacceptable character is. God tells us what the acceptable character traits are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, generosity and self-control. Those are the fruits of the Spirit as explained by Paul in Galatians 5:22. But sometimes those unacceptable things slip out before we think. In Psalm 141:3 it says, "Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not turn my heart to any evil." And later in that Psalm in verse 5, "Let the faithful correct me." So if you have a brother or sister in Christ offering you counsel, lean in, listen, repent and implement.

Set yourself to a higher standard. We are God's children and therefore should behave as such. It's better if we catch ourselves and change before others do the intervening. And the best way to stay on top of that is to be in the Word. Be in prayer. Examine our ways against the ways of Christ. The only way you know what Godly behavior is if you read what God says it is. 

Be especially cautious to be of good character with your betrothed. Often we take advantage of that relationship, and they don't deserve it. Don't they deserve the very best part of you? So be sure your character reflects the Lord of love.

Discussion: What are some character traits you need to work on? What would help prevent you from slipping into bad character habits?

Prayer: Lord God, you showed us through your son Jesus how we are to behave. We pray, Father, that we imitate Him and show people through our behavior that we belong to you. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Infectious Character

Recently Daddy and I spent some time with a couple who were not getting along. The bitterness, snippiness and arguing was getting wearisome. While it exhausted the two of us, that wasn't the worst thing to come out of the encounter. After visiting with them, Daddy and I started snipping at each other. In the middle of this, I commented to your Daddy, "Whatever demon was egging them on, was infectious and is taking a turn at us. We need to stop this right now." We took a step back from the ridiculous conversation we were having and realized the attitude of our friends was rubbing off on us. It was a lesson for us on many levels.

First, to be choosy about who you hang out with. Be sure to spend time with friends who are encouraging, uplifting and make wise choices. Who you spend time with will certainly affect your behavior. If you hang around people who are negative, argumentative, gossipy, bossy or unsupportive, it can be influential in your own relationships. Yes, you can be the shining light for them, but you want to be careful they aren't bringing you down instead. And second, that there truly was a lying demon at work doing some whispering and persuading to try to get Daddy and I pick at one another. We know this because the arguments were ridiculous, unfounded and such a waste of time. It was the only explanation that made sense. When you look at situations from a spiritual perspective, you can see it from a more holy and wise place. Like our post on July 6 about our battles against the "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12), we knew this situation was of that ilk. It just had an evil feel about it.

So first examine yourself. What is your demeanor? Are you joyful? Are you encouraging? Are you empathetic? Are you kind? If you can answer those questions positively, then take a look at the people you are spending the majority of your time with. Ask those same questions of them. If you get negatives about any of those, perhaps you needn't spend as much time with them. You can, of course, start praying for them that their attitude change. The Bible has many verses about selecting companionship carefully. Proverbs 12:26 says, "The righteous gives good advice to friends, but the way of the wicked leads astray." Proverbs 13:20 says, "Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm." Proverbs 22:24-25 say, "Make no friends with those given to anger, and do not associate with hotheads,or you may learn their ways and entangle yourself in a snare." 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, "Do not be deceived: 'Bad company ruins good character.'”

The righteous is a guide to his neighbor, But the way of the wicked leads them astray. - See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Choosing-Friends#sthash.NvfWhpNU.dpuf

The righteous is a guide to his neighbor, But the way of the wicked leads them astray. - See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Choosing-Friends#sthash.NvfWhpNU.dpuf

The righteous is a guide to his neighbor, But the way of the wicked leads them astray. - See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Choosing-Friends#sthash.NvfWhpNU.dpuf

The righteous is a guide to his neighbor, But the way of the wicked leads them astray. - See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Choosing-Friends#sthash.NvfWhpNU.dpuf

The righteous is a guide to his neighbor, But the way of the wicked leads them astray. - See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Choosing-Friends#sthash.NvfWhpNU.dpuf

Surround yourself with high caliber people. And even better, people who love Jesus Christ and are obedient to His Word. People who are happily married and with good communications skills. People who speak well of their spouse or significant other. People who love first. Because just as the ugly is infectious, so is the beautiful. And that makes our relationships so much more blessed.

Discussion: Share a time when the attitude of someone you were spending time -whether good or bad - with rubbed off on you. Are there any friends you spend time with who are not beneficial to your emotional well being?

Prayer: Lord we thank You for the sweet friendships in our lives. Those who love us and whose attitudes are examples of goodness. We pray we will be picky about who we spend too much time with that they will be encouraging to us as we are to them. In Christ we pray, Amen.