How Do We See Our Fellow Man?

[Starise]

Do you see your fellow man as only a Christian brother, or do you see everyone as a potential Christian brother or sister?

Maybe the secret to having the right attitude towards others is to try and see them through the eyes of Jesus.

Are others annoying you? Do people make you impatient? Do you see people as obstacles instead of as people? Do people make you easily agitated? 

Here is something I at least try to do- Whenever I look at any person I tell myself Jesus loves them. If someone is annoying me, I tell myself Jesus loves them and so should I.

Are we as Christians snubbing people or ignoring people? I will admit sometimes I don't know how to deal with some people and I do ignore them because I can think of no way to gainfully communicate with them. Is that wrong? 

Do you think all people are potential candidates for some kind of a connection, or do you think there are only certain kinds of people we best associate with?

I believe the Lord tells us to love our neighbor, no matter who they are. Not only love our neighbor, but love them as we love ourselves. 

The bible doesn't tell us we need to befriend everyone or hang out with everyone. The bible only tells us to love everyone and treat everyone well. It is probably impossible to have a relationship with some people, yet we still need to approach them with love.

I don't believe Jesus ever looked on a man or woman He created with true disdain. If anything I believe He is sad when He looks at some people who have rejected Him.

Every one of us are 'in the works' as people. Some seem so far out there it seems no one can ever reach them, yet Jesus has repeatedly saved many of those who were thought to be hopeless. 

I believe the body of Christ could reach so many more people if we could simply see them through the eyes of Christ and get rid of our stubbornness and pride.

The beginning of Jesus for some people might be the love of God through you in even the smallest of things.

While it is true we can't get along with everyone, we can love everyone. Love in and of itself is a very disarming thing.

[Ani Tefillah]

54 minutes ago, Starise said:

Do you see your fellow man as only a Christian brother, or do you see everyone as a potential Christian brother or sister?

Maybe the secret to having the right attitude towards others is to try and see them through the eyes of Jesus.

Are others annoying you? Do people make you impatient? Do you see people as obstacles instead of as people? Do people make you easily agitated? 

Here is something I at least try to do- Whenever I look at any person I tell myself Jesus loves them. If someone is annoying me, I tell myself Jesus loves them and so should I.

Are we as Christians snubbing people or ignoring people? I will admit sometimes I don't know how to deal with some people and I do ignore them because I can think of no way to gainfully communicate with them. Is that wrong? 

Do you think all people are potential candidates for some kind of a connection, or do you think there are only certain kinds of people we best associate with?

I believe the Lord tells us to love our neighbor, no matter who they are. Not only love our neighbor, but love them as we love ourselves. 

The bible doesn't tell us we need to befriend everyone or hang out with everyone. The bible only tells us to love everyone and treat everyone well. It is probably impossible to have a relationship with some people, yet we still need to approach them with love.

I don't believe Jesus ever looked on a man or woman He created with true disdain. If anything I believe He is sad when He looks at some people who have rejected Him.

Every one of us are 'in the works' as people. Some seem so far out there it seems no one can ever reach them, yet Jesus has repeatedly saved many of those who were thought to be hopeless. 

I believe the body of Christ could reach so many more people if we could simply see them through the eyes of Christ and get rid of our stubbornness and pride.

The beginning of Jesus for some people might be the love of God through you in even the smallest of things.

While it is true we can't get along with everyone, we can love everyone. Love in and of itself is a very disarming thing.

Amen and Amen! 

My deepest longing is to have more and more love and compassion to everyone, and as I unfortunately am not perfected in this yet, I feel that the Holy Spirit is daily urging me to become more like the Lord in every way. 

As the lawlessness has taken over this world, and all the other things which are happening around the world nowadays, it is easy to harden the heart and to begin to abhor the evil people, but I don't want that to happen to me! Therefore I daily pursue more of His Love and compassion to everyone, and try to guard my heart. 

I often pray that He must "burn away" everything that is of me, so only He can be visible (Quote from Smith Wigglesworth), and as long as I have this Divine longing, I will trust Him to fulfill it little by little, day by day, until I "fly away". 🎶🎹🆙⬆️😊

[bropro]

3 hours ago, Starise said:

Do you see your fellow man as only a Christian brother, or do you see everyone as a potential Christian brother or sister?

Maybe the secret to having the right attitude towards others is to try and see them through the eyes of Jesus.

Are others annoying you? Do people make you impatient? Do you see people as obstacles instead of as people? Do people make you easily agitated? 

Here is something I at least try to do- Whenever I look at any person I tell myself Jesus loves them. If someone is annoying me, I tell myself Jesus loves them and so should I.

Are we as Christians snubbing people or ignoring people? I will admit sometimes I don't know how to deal with some people and I do ignore them because I can think of no way to gainfully communicate with them. Is that wrong? 

Do you think all people are potential candidates for some kind of a connection, or do you think there are only certain kinds of people we best associate with?

I believe the Lord tells us to love our neighbor, no matter who they are. Not only love our neighbor, but love them as we love ourselves. 

The bible doesn't tell us we need to befriend everyone or hang out with everyone. The bible only tells us to love everyone and treat everyone well. It is probably impossible to have a relationship with some people, yet we still need to approach them with love.

I don't believe Jesus ever looked on a man or woman He created with true disdain. If anything I believe He is sad when He looks at some people who have rejected Him.

Every one of us are 'in the works' as people. Some seem so far out there it seems no one can ever reach them, yet Jesus has repeatedly saved many of those who were thought to be hopeless. 

I believe the body of Christ could reach so many more people if we could simply see them through the eyes of Christ and get rid of our stubbornness and pride.

The beginning of Jesus for some people might be the love of God through you in even the smallest of things.

While it is true we can't get along with everyone, we can love everyone. Love in and of itself is a very disarming thing.

I endeavor at all times to view life through the lens of scripture. All people have a soul that will spend eternity someplace. With this understanding, I know that regardless of how much a person irritates me, or how wicked a person may be, they are a person for whom Christ died. If they are valued enough by God to send His Son to die for them, I too should endeavor to love them as He did. Because, quite honestly, I was at one time one of those wicked people who had a bad habit of irritating and disrespecting people. Stirring the pot so to speak. Thanks for the post. These questions you asked should set all of us to regularly examine our lives to see if we are living in a manner that honors Jesus.

Gary

[Hopefully]

8 hours ago, Starise said:

Are we as Christians snubbing people or ignoring people? I will admit sometimes I don't know how to deal with some people and I do ignore them because I can think of no way to gainfully communicate with them. Is that wrong? 

I don’t believe this is wrong.

8 hours ago, Starise said:

Do you think all people are potential candidates for some kind of a connection, or do you think there are only certain kinds of people we best associate with?

I think all people are candidates for connection, but only certain people are best to associate with. 

[Willa]

 

9 hours ago, Starise said:

I will admit sometimes I don't know how to deal with some people and I do ignore them because I can think of no way to gainfully communicate with them. Is that wrong? 

2Ti 4:14  Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works.  2Ti 4:15  You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words.

Not all people are healthy for us to maintain a relationship.  I am thinking of relatives with whom we have turned the other cheek for decades and continued to offer love.  God once told me that it doesn't glorify Him to be a door mat, but I should stand firm and say enough is enough.  No more being manipulated so as to be the but of their abuse or allowing my family to be badly treated.  Yes, we forgive.  It is not wrong to avoid some people under these circumstances.

 

[debrakay]

I have been struggling with this and seeking clarity.  Not all can or will be saved.  Do we "cast our pearls before swine" or do we "wipe the dust from our feet" and seek out those who are willing to hear and listen?  Yes, we are to show love and kindness to all and to walk humbly in this world.  Yet not everyone is worthy of our love, our time and our prayers and I believe the Holy Spirit will reveal to us and help us discern those who are not blind and hardened.  Especially in this day and age of wickedness.  We are to be wise in this evil world.

John 12:40 - He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.

Isaiah 6:9-12 - And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ “Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed.” Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered: “Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, The houses are without a man, The land is utterly desolate, The Lord has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land."

Matthew 10:16 - “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."

 

[bropro]

20 hours ago, Starise said:

Are we as Christians snubbing people or ignoring people? I will admit sometimes I don't know how to deal with some people and I do ignore them because I can think of no way to gainfully communicate with them. Is that wrong? 

2 Thessalonians 3:6 (NASB)
⁶  Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us.
 

According to this verse, we are commanded to keep away (withdraw-KJV) from unruly people. I have done this effectively at times, and at other times not so much. My attitude has gotten in the way at times and projected a self-righteous spirit towards the person. Not so good for my testimony. At other times, I have stayed away from people as much as possible, but was able to maintain a meek and loving spirit when unable to maintain that distance. I have come to the conclusion that the only thing that matters in my conflict with others, is that they witness the work of Christ in my responses. It may not be the easiest thing to do, but it is a doable thing if I trust the Holy Spirit that is in me to navigate my responses. My right responses (by way of the Holy Spirit) may be the very thing that the Lord will use to convict their hearts of their contentious spirit causing them to repent, and draw them to Himself. So I don't see it as wrong to distance myself from an unruly person, as long as I remember who I am, and Who I am to reflect.

Gary

 

 

[Dennis1209]

An interesting topic, our Sunday School lesson tomorrow morning is titled “Who Is Your Neighbor?” It briefly includes the lesson on the Good Samaritan.

Some previous posts reflect several of my thoughts and attitudes. However, at times I am still a work in progress and get aggravated and spiteful. Patience sometimes is not my long suit for dealing with aggressive people.

Yes, Jesus is our role model, which we strive to emulate. At times the old nature of “pride” wants to rear its ugly head. It is a lifelong process for me to try to become meek and humble in dealing with the world today. The adage of "what would Jesus say and do" needs to be branded in my brain before I speak or act. 

We are not in Kansas anymore, and this is not our grandfather's world. 

[kwikphilly]

8 hours ago, debrakay said:

I have been struggling with this and seeking clarity.  Not all can or will be saved.  Do we "cast our pearls before swine" or do we "wipe the dust from our feet" and seek out those who are willing to hear and listen?  Yes, we are to show love and kindness to all and to walk humbly in this world.  Yet not everyone is worthy of our love, our time and our prayers and I believe the Holy Spirit will reveal to us and help us discern those who are not blind and hardened.  Especially in this day and age of wickedness.  We are to be wise in this evil world.

John 12:40 - He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.

Isaiah 6:9-12 - And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ “Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed.” Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered: “Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, The houses are without a man, The land is utterly desolate, The Lord has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land."

Matthew 10:16 - “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."

 

Blessings Deb 

Hi Sis,for many years I did struggle as well with the same things you are struggling with.... Seems to me you are on the right track because seeking discernment is paramount.... Holy Spirit is the best Counsel in these matters,not our " feelings"

You mentioned the 2 verses of Scripture Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance everytime I struggled over what to do about those very hard to " love" people we encounter when I was but a babe.....before I truly Understood what those Scriptures even mean- especially " casting pearls before swine" and then I was shown in a most remarkable way, more than I bargained for( one day I'll share the stories)

  The end result is a good" balance"...  It's so easy to love even the worst person,most evil& wicked  you can think of( I did not say " like",I said " love"). Sis,is there anything in your eyes that could warrant eternal torment? The worst of the worst of the worst most hideous crime maybe 10,000 years or a million years of indescribable sufferening & torment but FOREVER?  Not in my eyes(& I'm not God,I'm just human)but when I meet a despicable human all I could think of is Eternity,it makes is so so easy to love them & hope they come to Believe...

Okay,so there's the love part but I also understand that not everyone is MY Assignment... I'll try to speak"Jesus" but if God's Word is not Received( by me) then I can comfortably kick dust( lol) also knowing that there is HOPE in Christ & perhaps God Will use another to Call them out......As a babe I did think it was MY job to reach& preach to EVERYONE... It is not ,it is my job to love & pray for ALL & sometimes from a distance...

There has to be a good balance for your own well being & PEACE.... Remember always that no person is our enemy,it is the devil that is the enemy( of all humans)even the ones who worship him,he is their enemy & only wants to steal,kill & destroy whether THEY believe it or not!

God's TRUTH makes it easy to love,God's TRUTH makes it easy to walk away from where we don't belong & show us the Way..... Always let go to let God & we don't struggle with those matters

And to @Starise" Is it wrong to ignore those you cannot gainfully communicate with"? Absolutely not,God's Word tells us not to partake with those contentious ones.... Pray for them but don't entertain the enemy,they are just doing what the enemy wants....

With love in Christ,Kwik

[enoob57]

for me it's a real pain in my neck  
after I pivot extreme on my ankles and roll my eyes back in my head I can see their chins