Why we Need to Look at Ourselves Before we Look at Other people—R Fritz
Too many people are looking at what is “their” perception of other people which has not come from the Holy Spirit but from what they think or believe. It seems some people want to speak their words about somebody without taking their thoughts to God. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience is fulfilled.” We fight in the Spirit and our weapons are prayer and God’s word. Speaking our own words does nothing to change a spiritual attack even when we think it is personal. Our feelings are hurt and our first thought is to attack them back. When we let the Holy Spirit take over is bringing our feelings and every thought into captivity and our feelings cannot get hurt because they are in obedience to Christ.
Personal attacks are what we see when people speak about us which gets us to forget we need to fight in the Spirit. This is what Satan does. Satan gets us to focus on ourselves or away from what God needs us to focus on. Satan wants us to believe what we see and think is true. We need to question some things we see and our thoughts because Satan wants to get in between God and us. It is to cause confusion if we are not close to the Holy Spirit. When we read and study the Bible, we begin to know the characteristics of God and the characteristics of Satan. Satan can counterfeit what we see as being from God. Satan can also do some nice things and we mistakenly believe that God is doing them. We need to ask the Holy Spirit who knows all things. If we try to figure out what is going on in the world without asking the Holy Spirit, we will not know the truth. John 8:31-32 says, and this is Jesus speaking, Then said Jesus to those Jews who believed in him, “If you continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
What I have seen is people attacking good people, people that God has plans for. I could not figure out or see a reason why certain people were attacked or singled out by others until now when the Holy Spirit revealed it to me. It is people looking at outward appearance and judging what they think they see. People look at beauty or looks, how much money they have, how people dress, and anything that is different than themselves. Sometimes it is being jealous of what somebody has at the time or being jealous of the gifts God has given to somebody. The one I did not see was those that God has plans for. The quiet ones who do not stand up for themselves. As the man says we cannot judge a book by its cover. We do not know what somebody will become in their lifetime. 1 Samuel 16:6-7 says “And it came to pass, when they have come, that he looked to Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him. But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance (appearance), or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” The person The Lord was looking for in this instance was David. The small unassuming boy but the LORD knew his heart where David turned into God’s king, A man after God’s own heart.
People are treating other people the way they do because of what they see or hear. They do not understand they are supposed to love their neighbor as themselves. First, they do not love themselves and second, they do not know God’s love so they do not know God. We might ask why I would say that because God is love. 1 John 4:16 says “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. If we know God and are allowing the Holy Spirit to control our words and actions, we will know God’s love and treat people with love.
Believers should be looking at the heart of every person they meet which is letting the Holy Spirit show us who each person is. What I have seen is having a conversation with people usually shows me their hearts. It also shows me they have a relationship with the Holy Spirit. You will also see that they are growing in their knowledge of the Bible and knowing God. It is using our understanding and wisdom to help somebody else to be able to get to a higher plateau or helping them to get through some of the issues we have already gotten through to make their life easier and give somebody the wisdom to pass on to somebody else they know.
The most important part is us looking at ourselves first before we are critiquing or criticizing what somebody is doing. We were all made different for a reason, our likes and dislikes, our gifts given by God, and how God speaks to us or how we react in different situations are what make us different and the way God wanted us to be. We have to remember we are all in different stages of understanding and to get more understanding requires us to keep asking questions and studying the Bible.
It gets down to us and how seriously we want to know God and follow him. The want to know God will show in everything we do. We have to put God first and where God is in our life will show where our heart is. It is getting our priorities right because if our priorities are right our life will be right. Let’s all work on getting our priorities right and that change will change our lives and how we look at other people. God Bless.
