I'm honestly interested, because I simply can't begin to understand how it works in a daily life.
You are supposed to love God more than anybody else. Which means you put God over your loved ones, your spouses, your children, your best friends, etc.
My girlfriend is a Christian, but she calls herself a Christian Light or Diet Christian. She believes in God, but she values life much more than anything. She will also never believe an atheist like me will end up in Hell.
(Please don't answer me with telling me she's not a 'true Christian'. With calling others 'not a true Christian', you are judging, and with that you automatically disqualify yourself as a True Christian)
Anyway, how does it work? How do you put God over your loved ones? And how do your loved ones feel about that?
2007-03-14 11:29:14 · 33 answers · asked by ? 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Christians do not put God over their loved ones. Both are essential.One is a spiritual relationship the other a natural relationship and both work together. In one place the Bible says that if anyone does not provide for the needs of their family they "have denied the faith and are worse than an unbeliever." You will never find christians putting God over their families if they are following God because God has commanded us to meet the needs of those in our families.
Many people today are writing their own bibles and coming up with their own beliefs. Your girlfriend is no different and in the end no man can judge her, but God will.
2007-03-14 11:46:59 · answer #1 · answered by oldguy63 7 · 4⤊ 1⤋
An example would probably work best in this case.
I love God far more than I do this person close to me. I praise God and am very thankful every day I have breath. This person doesn't. This person acts like a hypocrite. Even though I love this person, it is hard for me to love the person because of all the sinfulness that gets in the way. But when I keep my eyes focused on the goodness of Christ, and how loving He is that He saved me from eternity in Hell, not because of anything I deserved, but because He simply loved me, and the fact that I was once as sinful if not more sinful than the person that I have a hard time loving, then it makes it much easier to look past the wrongdoings and love that person.
God gives Christians unmerrited favor. This means that not only do we not get what we deserve, but He allows us to be blessed with so much. He keeps giving live, joy, peace, and His love all the time. When I love others, it is just a reflection of the love and fufillment that He brings to me.
Finally, I would like to suggest that you have quite a few mis-guided presuppositions in regards to Christianity. It is perfectly legitimate to judge others who claim to be Christians. That is what the bible teaches. It would be pointless however to judge you, because you are already lost. Sad really... very sad.
In terms of your girlfriend, there are a few problems. In your posting you mentioned multiple sinful behaviors that your girlfriend is participating in. 1) Does not believe in Christian Doctrine 2) Denies the words of Jesus 3) Is in a relationship with an unbeliever. Further, I'm sure it must very difficult for her to remain a virgin having a boyfriend who has no absolute moral standard.
If she is in a lifestyle of sin, and you believe she is a Christian, then you are the one who is being fooled.
2007-03-14 11:51:00 · answer #2 · answered by dooltaz 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, you put God before everything else by realizing that everything and everyone on this earth will die away. God is EVERLASTING. "He will never leave you, nor forsake you." It is very easy to put God first when you realize that He is far greater than anything you could ever imagine. I think your girlfriend is just confused about what to believe. She's probably heard so many different things that she just decided to put them altogether. I used to do that too. However, I realized that if you do that, you contradict yourself. You can't believe in Christianity and still believe that an atheist doesn't go to hell. (not to offend you and your atheist beliefs/nonbeliefs) But if you do not believe in Christ as your Lord and Savior, the hard cold fact is that you WILL got to hell. And I think that the Bible tells us that so that we will realize that God deserves the glory, and that we do not want to go to hell. So we should, therefore, clean up our lives and live for God. Because selfish living is soo over rated. And, on top of that, you are never truly satisfied. If you live for yourself, then you are constantly wanting something else out of life, and you are never going to be fully satisfied. I hope that God chooses to remove the blinders from your eyes and show you how AMAZING he is, and how little you are. May God bless you. :)
2007-03-14 11:45:08 · answer #3 · answered by Colie 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Thankfully, my loved ones feel the same way as I do, so I don't worry about what they think. I guess the best way I can explain it is that we have faith in God and His promises for mankind. We believe in the resurrection, so we feel that if we lose our life or that of a loved one, we have complete confidence that the person is in God's memory and will come back to us in the near future.
Loving God above all others, including self, isn't as difficult or sad as you may think. It is simply an expression of faith and devotion to our Creator. We don't fear death or persecution because God is the ultimate authority, not mankind or any government. I would die for God- I would also die to save my husband, my mother or my father (I don't have children, but if I did I would include them as well) or my dearest friends if ever I was in that situation. But I would not lose out on eternal life, or turn my back on God, if one of them asked me to.
Jesus said that the Word of God is alive and would, at times, divide families because some would believe and some wouldn't. So I would choose God over my family because I know that it is the best decision for me in the long run, even if it hurts in the meantime.
But I still love my family and friends more than life itself. I just would never allow them to come between me and God.
Good question :D
2007-03-14 11:40:22 · answer #4 · answered by danni_d21 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
She is not a true Christian then because the Bible teaches otherwise. And yes we CAN judge between believers, read the book of 1st Corinthians or any of Pauls writings for that matter, they are FILLED with judgments. If you read the passage where Jesus is talking about judging, youll note he concludes the passage by teaching not to be a hypocrite WHEN we judge. When Jesus literally said "do not judge", he was being no more literal then when he said "drink my blood." The fact that she is dating an unbeliever violates more Biblical principle but those are her problems to deal with.
With that being said, Jesus said that that was the greatest commandment in life; loving God. God will never fail you, will never fail to love you, or never die. Our family, friends, jobs here on earth constantly if not eternally fail us, fail to love us, and terminate. One of the truths you have to accept as a believer is that your friends and family perhaps may not be in Heaven when you get there. Therefore your relationship with God is paramount because it is truly eternal and he above all else is worthy of that love and praise by virtue of his nature.
My family knows how I feel about God and we understand the set created priorities our faith gives us. You get used to it and it is rather quite invaluable because you learn that when you are loving God and doing what he says, you are in essence loving everybody else because that is what Gods law says to do!
2007-03-14 11:54:43 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
OK putting God over loved ones doesn't necessarily mean completely ignoring them. Worst case scenario is a case of doing what God wants and going against your families expectations and hopes for you. Sometimes this does mean leaving them and going where God has called you to be.
I believe that God created people to love us and that means families. The bible also talks about how important they are and how children are to obey their parents authority. I think that He wants Christians to love their families and be an example of what God is like.
2007-03-14 11:41:41 · answer #6 · answered by bcooper_au 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm a Christian and I am also a recovering alcoholic. One of the principles of AA is Principles before personalities, which means, putting God first before fmaily, work , money, etc in order to stay balanced and to keep your True north. family members will disappoint us because they are human and cannot give us everything we need, but the Creator can. sometimes family members can our worst enemies. Friends and family can prevent us from doing something outstanding in our lives because they feel threatened.
God is the True north when everything else in life fails.
and it does sound like your girlfriend is compromising and being lukewarm and I am not judging. It says it in the bible that God either wants us hot or cold, but lukewarmness is not acceptable.
and who are you to judge "true" Christianity? whose truth your or God's? God is the ultimate judge not people.
2007-03-14 11:40:47 · answer #7 · answered by motorized vehicle 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
What it means to me is that my relationship with God is first. It is the same for my husband. We believe that our relationship with God is what makes our relationship with each other better.
For an easier way to understand, lets take God out of this. Lets say you are married and have kids. Are you going to put your relationship with your children first, or your relationship with your wife?
Of course your relationship with your wife is more important, as far as the family unit goes. Without a well functioning marriage, the entire family unit suffers.
That is the best way I know how to explain it. It doesn't mean I love my husband or children less, it means I love them more because I value them, I want to do everything I can to make my relationships the best they can possibly be.
2007-03-14 11:38:00 · answer #8 · answered by paj 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You love each other like there is no one else in the world. You sacrifice for each other, you put there needs above yours, and you place them at the center of your life.
With all that said, you can still love God as well. You serve Him and keep his commandments and be compassionate to others, help the poor, etc. I do not htink these are mutaully exclusive. God does not want you to neglect your loved ones and family. They should be firs tand foremost, the cneter of your lives. You can serve God at the same time too.
2007-03-14 11:34:09 · answer #9 · answered by Kerry 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Putting God first simply (or not so simply) means trusting in God's word first and foremost. Anything else that you put before God can be used by Satan to tempt you. God's path for you is perfect, when we begin to venture on our own, we open ourselves up to challenges and trials that are not of God but of Satan. While God certainly wants us to love our family, kids and spouses, we must love and trust in God above all. A good example is when we have challenges in a relationship, we can be subjected to anger, jealousy, doubt, lack of patience etc. but trusting in God first gives us the strength to overcome these challenges, making our path easier.
Hope ths answered your question without a judgemental tone.
2007-03-14 11:41:14 · answer #10 · answered by surgicalvenom 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋