What is the proper Christian response if you violate this commandment of Jesus?

Question

Mat 5:44 - But I tell you, Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who revile you, and persecute you.

What if you respond in less than loving ways toward someone on Yahoo! Answers? Is Jesus saying doing so is a sin? What should you do to restore wholeness?

Does the following verses effect how you respond?

Matt. 5:23-24 - So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

What, then, is the proper way for Christians who lack charity to reconcile themselves to their fellow Y!A user and to their God?

HEAVENS MESSENGER:
I tried to email you a response, but Yahoo! says you haven't confirmed your email.
This is as long as a half-book?
Compared to what? Pat the Bunny?

Answer 1

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." That is step one, step two is to confess to the person(s) offended by your sin and ask forgiveness. Realize that if you do not seek forgiveness from those whom you've offended then God can not forgive you. We always sin against God because all sin is a violation of God's laws. But we can also sin against another human being and must therefore seek that individual's forgiveness. If they won't grant forgiveness then be at peace knowing you have done all you can.

Answer 2

Firstly, telling someone what the Word of God says is GUARANTEED to offend. It offended ME before I became a Christian. It's difficult to accept the fact that you're a sinner under the judgment of God, but in fact we all are. There is a difference between being downright RUDE, and what someone may interpret as being less than loving, however, even though it's the truth of God.

For example I can tell you FROM the Bible that GOD says (NOT I), that all those who die outside of the forgiveness of Christ will perish in the lake of fire according to Revelation 20:11-15.

Many will interpret that as unloving; but to the Christian, it is very loving, because we CARE about you, truly, and wish you to reflect upon these truths so perhaps God will change your direction and path in life.


Yes, as Christians, obviously we ascribe to a higher moral code, (or at least do our best to), what would perhaps be a good standard that the atheists could follow to lighten up on Christians when posing their questions to us? Because even the way you worded your question assumes that atheists don't have to take responsibility for the way they treat us, but only deals with our shortcomings in dealing with them. Are they absolved of all accountability because they feel there is no God to reckon with, so therefore can be as ferocious with us as they choose? They really do seem to try their darndest to mock us with 75% of the questions on this forum.

Your question would be a lot fairer if it addressed everybody equally, and not just the Christians.

EDIT:

Mommyloveseva

Just because when you were living what you felt was a charade when you attempted to live as a Christian, and were hateful, (by your own account, please do not assume that I have a superior attitude towards anyone by my response. My response was sincere and respectful, and notice I didn't accuse anyone of hypocrisy, and it gets very annoying when people try to put words in my mouth. Perhaps you should reread my answer without any preconceived ideas on how YOU would've responded, if you were still pretending to be a Christian.

Answer 3

Being reconciled to your fellow human kind is not as hard as it may seem.

You must of course have a repentant heart. If that person was harmed by you, or you did something to cause harm, you must tell them in person or in writing of your remorse at having given in to weakness and sinned against them and God.

You do not need that person to forgive you,. It would be nice, but all are not forgiving any more than all are remorseful. The important part is that you are repentant and have tried to reconcile to the harmed person.

The same thing is true if another has hurt or harmed you in some manner. You must forgive them, even if they never ask for forgiveness. In this way , you reconcile yourself to this person.

We all mess up on a daily basis, and most often we do not even realize that we have verbally harmed another. We must ask God to search our hearts and show us our weaknessess and then respond accordingly.

Living as a Christian is never going to be easy, but it is worth it, now and in the end.

Answer 4

this is a very controversial problem for most Christians, yet i'm prone to consider you that such issues ARE graven images. there are countless variations of Christianity that supply better appreciate to equivalent to the savior than the savior himself. some human beings won't be able to even pray till they are contained in the presence of such an photo. i'm extraordinarily particular that if Jesus walked right into a church and pronounced equivalent to his violent, painful, awful lack of existence on the wall it would want to deliver shivers up his backbone. i understand that maximum human beings might want to argue that it serves as a reminder of his sacrifice, yet i do not see why your heart and your reminiscence won't be able to serve the same objective. Is it hostile to the commandment to worship in a church with a go on the wall? No, i don't believe of that's. that's a question of the heart. Is it a sin to worship such an photo? honestly definite, that's.

Answer 5

Recently, when I was a Christian (and indoctrinated), my reaction to this would have been, honestly, fake. I would have known in my head the principles practiced by Christianity and certainly would have called someone out on them. (For instance, a Christian not loving and blessing, but reacting hatefully with bias). And I would have spouted biblical references, perfectly memorized, to prove the point.

However, now when I look back on everything, I was very bias and judging, and never "practiced what I preached". So in conclusion, I love this question as it exposes the hypocrisy within oneself as a Christian. Deep down I always judged, always knew I was wrong for it, and was never able to reconcile the fact that it was my religion (or dogma) in the first place that caused me to judge or react unfavorably.

The saddest part is, what you've quoted Jesus as saying is not only true... but helpful to the soul. Who can bring you down if you followed those principles? No one! But religious doctrine has been set up to fail. It is all circular.
As in, I believed everyone "had to be this certain way" and thus I judged them for not doing so. But I myself couldn't follow those original principles like that mentioned in Mat 5 because I was too busy judging instead of loving and blessing.

I'm not really sure if this really answered your question completely, I just hope it sheds some light on the reason many Christians on Yahoo Answers do not seem to follow Jesus' teachings when responding to or asking questions. It is the paradox of the religion.

If anyone wants to know how I became free of this hypocrisy and am now better able to follow Jesus' teachings, email me! I'd love to talk to you.

EDITED: P.S. My reaction would have been very similar to the post just before mine. It would make sense, sound good, but ultimately that way of thinking would lead me to believe I was somehow better than others when deep down I wasn't.

Answer 6

The ability to stand and cope with the problems of life, depends upon the spiritual foundation a person has learned to develop. Following Jesus' teachings throughout one's lifetime helps builds a solid foundation to have the Fruit of the Spirit Gentleness!

Temperance means self-control. It is control over the whole man (spirit, soul, and body) which enables us to live a victorious life
(I Corinthians 9:25). A person who has self-control is mild and calm, avoids extreme behavior, and exercises self-restraint in both actions and speech. Although restraint and self-control aren't easy, they are necessary if one ever wants to operate in the fruit of the Spirit. After all, temperance and love are the bookends that hold all the other fruit in place.

Answer 7

I did this once and felt really bad. I prayed to God and asked forgiveness, then I emailed the person I'd offended and apologized. I've not heard back from him, but at least I acknowledged my mistake and I hope he's seen it.

First, ask God for forgiveness, and if you feel it proper, write an apology. We all make mistakes, but Jesus forgives.

God bless, and take care.

Answer 8

To speak the truth in all things.
Sometimes when someone speaks the truth it is often taken as an insult. I would not be responsible for everyone on this forum who got their feelings hurt because I spoke what is in my heart. If I do this in anger(which I have a few times) or in judging, then I have accountability. I am far from perfect and often speak in haste. I am also willing to ask forgiveness if I have done this to you or anyone on the forum. My approach often comes off as rude...my intention is to communicate on a level of which I am approached for the benefit of the asker....
P.S.
a good example is yourself NH...there was a time a couple of months ago you were harsh and crude at times. Now you have a more gentle and honest approach. We all are making changes and working towards becoming more of what Christ ask of us.

Answer 9

You have not committed the "upardonable sin". It's hard to love your enemies and bless those who persecute you. It's hard to not want to take vengeance. It's hard not to lash back in self defense at someone who is persecuting you.

So what you can do is pray to God that he will show you how to do this. I know I haven't exactly learned how to love my enemies yet, but I'm learning. And one day I will be able to.

Just pray to God and ask his forgiveness for your reaction and ask him to help you not react in "less than loving ways". That will restore you.

Answer 10

Yep, love is a spectrum with a wide range.

One end might be the love of your children and the other end mankind.

Christ wanted us to stay on the spectrum of love.

BUT, HATE EVIL.
Psa 97:10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.

The answer is, if it be possible.

Rom 12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.