An Interesting Challenge

[Michael37]

I was about to title this thread "Dynamic Relationship Interaction", but I was prompted in the Spirit to symplify it to "An Interesting Challenge", which is what dynamic relationship interactions are to me.

Basically the word "dynamic", from the Greek dunamis,  is synonymous with "power", so it is the power of relationships at work that I am referring to as an interesting challenge. 

Key Verse: Romans 12:18

Forgiveness
…17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”…

Berean Study Bible

Where it says "If it is possible" the phrase is translated from the Greek word dunatos,  which signifies having power or ability.

Recently I have found the cummulative lack of empathy one of my friends manifests when we meet up and fellowship as brothers in Christ, an irritating problem.

Firstly, please empathise with me before coaching me on how to handle this situation. Secondly, please be aware that I do pray and intercede for those I fellowship with, and as much as I have the dunamis to live at peace with them and keep on forgiving I do just that.

  What I am hoping is that, for our mutual edification, others will respectfully share thoughts and stories about the challenges of relating to irritating brothers and sisters in Christ.

[Michael37]

28 minutes ago, Sonshine said:

Michael, I back away from them… This is probably not the best or right thing to do, however.

Thanks for your reply Sonshine. I'm fine with backing off. I have learned the hard way that it is sometimes necessary.

I think I have may erred on the side of masochism with some difficult relationships in certain past congregations in which I was embedded.  

[BibleStudent100]

True forgiveness stems from the heart, but it is a quality that does not come naturally, as we are reminded in Jeremiah 17:9: "the heart is more treacherous than anything else and is desperate.”  Jesus further elucidated on the challenge of working against our natural heart inclination (that works against forgiving) in Matthew 15:19: "Out of the heart come wicked reasonings, murders, adulteries, fornications, thieveries, false testimonies, blasphemies."

Still, our heart can be trained to do what is right. However, the training we need must come from a higher source. We cannot do it alone. (Jeremiah 10:23) A  psalmist recognized this and prayed for God’s direction. He beseeched God in prayer: “Teach me your regulations. Make me understand the way of your own orders.”—Psalm 119:26, 27.

According to another psalm, King David of ancient Israel came to “understand the way” of God. He experienced it firsthand and learned from it. Hence, he was able to say: “God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness. As a father shows mercy to his sons, God has shown mercy to those fearing him.”—Psalm 103:8, 13.

We need to learn as David did. Prayerfully study God’s perfect example of forgiveness, as well as that of his Son. Thus, we can learn to forgive from the heart.

 

[Michael37]

15 hours ago, BibleStudent100 said:

True forgiveness stems from the heart, but it is a quality that does not come naturally, as we are reminded in Jeremiah 17:9: "the heart is more treacherous than anything else and is desperate.”  Jesus further elucidated on the challenge of working against our natural heart inclination (that works against forgiving) in Matthew 15:19: "Out of the heart come wicked reasonings, murders, adulteries, fornications, thieveries, false testimonies, blasphemies."

Still, our heart can be trained to do what is right. However, the training we need must come from a higher source. We cannot do it alone. (Jeremiah 10:23) A  psalmist recognized this and prayed for God’s direction. He beseeched God in prayer: “Teach me your regulations. Make me understand the way of your own orders.”—Psalm 119:26, 27.

According to another psalm, King David of ancient Israel came to “understand the way” of God. He experienced it firsthand and learned from it. Hence, he was able to say: “God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness. As a father shows mercy to his sons, God has shown mercy to those fearing him.”—Psalm 103:8, 13.

We need to learn as David did. Prayerfully study God’s perfect example of forgiveness, as well as that of his Son. Thus, we can learn to forgive from the heart.

Thanks for your reply, BibleStudent100. I like your thinking. Yes, we can learn from David and not let anything depose the joy of our salvation.

[Michael37]

15 hours ago, PromisesPromises! said:

Hi Michael...  When I was a baby Christian, in situations like the one you describe, I would pray and ask God to change these difficult people--please!  You can probably guess how quickly He answered those prayers.

Fast forward several decades....  Now I simply pray for my own grace and peace to be multiplied, and I can testify that God is faithful!  

2 Peter 1:2-4 New King James Version (NKJV)

2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

James 4:6 New King James Version (NKJV)

6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”

........

May God bless you, too, with all the extra grace you need!  

Hi Promises x 2, Your story and comments are a timely reminder to rely on God for the empowerment His grace supplies so that we can grow in our relationship with Him and with one another.

Thanks.

[missmuffet]

On 12/1/2019 at 9:27 PM, Michael37 said:

I was about to title this thread "Dynamic Relationship Interaction", but I was prompted in the Spirit to symplify it to "An Interesting Challenge", which is what dynamic relationship interactions are to me.

Basically the word "dynamic", from the Greek dunamis,  is synonymous with "power", so it is the power of relationships at work that I am referring to as an interesting challenge. 

Key Verse: Romans 12:18

Forgiveness
…17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”…

Berean Study Bible

Where it says "If it is possible" the phrase is translated from the Greek word dunatos,  which signifies having power or ability.

Recently I have found the cummulative lack of empathy one of my friends manifests when we meet up and fellowship as brothers in Christ, an irritating problem.

Firstly, please empathise with me before coaching me on how to handle this situation. Secondly, please be aware that I do pray and intercede for those I fellowship with, and as much as I have the dunamis to live at peace with them and keep on forgiving I do just that.

  What I am hoping is that, for our mutual edification, others will respectfully share thoughts and stories about the challenges of relating to irritating brothers and sisters in Christ.

There are toxic people in this world. I choose not to have a relationship with them. There is enough grief in this world without having to relate to a toxic person. 

[Michael37]

23 hours ago, missmuffet said:

There are toxic people in this world. I choose not to have a relationship with them. There is enough grief in this world without having to relate to a toxic person. 

Agreed, but sometimes the Lord requires it of us.

My wife and I very recently had occasion to discuss the knowledge she had just received that an older friend of hers who is in the ladies group which meets at our house, had Asperger Syndrome. As I am studied up, trained and experienced in "negotiating" as I call it, with some who present aspects of this autistic spectrum disorder, (so-called), my wife wanted my opinion. I said it would explain why a number of people who have fellowshipped with her have not been happy with her behaviour and have warned me that she is difficult to deal with. I took the opportunity to remind my wife of a graduation event about 30 years ago when members of the national leadership were ministering to us after I had completed the required theoretical and practical units of a 2 year Pastoral Diploma course. Whilst they were praying and laying hands on us as a couple the word came forth from one of these elder shepherds, that God had called us in a particular way to serve the unloved and unlovely as faithful and diligent ministers of His love...and this we have been doing to the best of our ability and according to the measure of faith He has given us.

The Holy Spirit brings some difficult cases our way but yes, due to the world, the flesh, and the devil at work, some people are toxic. We have definitely learned that there are those who will use and abuse their benefactors and bite the hand that feeds them due to their unrestrained carnal nature and in some instances, demonic oppression. 

Praise God for grace in time of need.

[Justin Adams]

I see the word 'toxic' used to associate to differing people. I see the word 'autistic' used. I have been called all kinds of things including toxic by those that would never want to know me or understand the way my mind works. My little boy is autistic (on the spectrum). There is a saying: 'when you know one autistic person - YOU KNOW ONE..'.

We are all different and if we do not want to understand, then we definitely should move away WITHOUT dropping 'hints' that may be taken in a derogatory manny. I am probably a high functioning member of the Aspergers group. As such, I have been labeled everything from sociopath to toxic and other much worse titles by the shrink-groups that love labels. I am fond of saying, 'label are for soup cans and not people'. It has caused me untold pain to be thus treated.

If one attempts to understand and communicate with what you might call 'strange' people, try to forget labels and treat them like the individual humans they are. It will help a great deal.

Edited December 3, 2019 by Justin Adams

[Walter and Deborah]

23 minutes ago, Justin Adams said:

I see the word 'toxic' used to associate to differing people. I see the word 'autistic' used. I have been called all kinds of things including toxic by those that would never want to know me or understand the way my mind works. My little boy is autistic (on the spectrum). There is a saying: 'when you know one autistic person - YOU KNOW ONE..'.

We are all different and if we do no want to understand, then we definitely should move away WITHOUT dropping 'hints' that may be taken in a derogatory manny. I am probably a high functioning member of the Aspergers group. As such, I have been labeled everything from sociopath to toxic and other much worse titles by the shrink-groups that love labels. I am fond of saying, 'label are for soup cans and not people'. It has caused me untold pain to be thus treated.

If one attempts to understand and communicate with what you might call 'strange' people, try to forget labels and treat them like the individual humans they are. It will help a great deal.

Encouraging 

[Walter and Deborah]

On 12/1/2019 at 9:27 PM, Michael37 said:

I was about to title this thread "Dynamic Relationship Interaction", but I was prompted in the Spirit to symplify it to "An Interesting Challenge", which is what dynamic relationship interactions are to me.

Basically the word "dynamic", from the Greek dunamis,  is synonymous with "power", so it is the power of relationships at work that I am referring to as an interesting challenge. 

Key Verse: Romans 12:18

Forgiveness
…17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”…

Berean Study Bible

Where it says "If it is possible" the phrase is translated from the Greek word dunatos,  which signifies having power or ability.

Recently I have found the cummulative lack of empathy one of my friends manifests when we meet up and fellowship as brothers in Christ, an irritating problem.

Firstly, please empathise with me before coaching me on how to handle this situation. Secondly, please be aware that I do pray and intercede for those I fellowship with, and as much as I have the dunamis to live at peace with them and keep on forgiving I do just that.

  What I am hoping is that, for our mutual edification, others will respectfully share thoughts and stories about the challenges of relating to irritating brothers and sisters in Christ.

Amen, I would say that your challenges experience are of the same accord of myself and my wife in which we are trying to keep His sayings to ourselves working out our salvation, meaning to let Christ to will and to do well pleasing in His sight. Philippians 2:13 ¹³For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Love always, Walter and Deborah