continued.

In order for my last post to not come across the wrong way, I feel like I need to clarify some things.

1. I'm not saying I'm always in the right whenever there is conflict in my life. More times that not, I am most definitely in the wrong. However, there are those few times when I know I am doing the right thing and this is how it is and there's not much I can do to change the situation. That' what I struggle with. That a life pleasing God can't always please His people too.

2. If you do find conflict in your life, do everything you can to love those people. Like I said, more often than not, it is me who is in the wrong, and there is something I may need to apologize or ask forgiveness for. No matter what, we are called to LOVE PEOPLE the way Jesus did. In a "i'm not really comfortable with this" kind of way that challenges us to do things we don't always want to do. So please don't think that I am telling you that whenever someone is upset with me I should just blow if off because they are only upset with the gospel I am presenting and there's nothing I can do about it. That is completely wrong and unloving. We should be doing everything we can to love people.

3. About this loving people. Loving them doesn't always mean making them happy, or telling them what they want to hear. It's not telling me to be the kind of friend that they need right then to make them feel better, but to be the kind of friend that tells them the truth. The kind of friend who tells them what they need to hear, not necessarily what they want to hear, and who will challenge them in their faith and love them the way God does. I don't know if I have ever been that kind of friend to someone and that is something that needs to change.

If you can't tell, this topic is one I chew on a lot. It's something that is hard for me to understand, and I am still figuring it out. The whole thing really comes down to a pride issue. Caring about what people think of me, more than what God thinks, and it is definitely something I need to work on. Feel free to share any thoughts you have because I would love to hear them!