Recently I had someone correct me on whether or not I was going through a spiritual attack.
I said I was, they said I wasn't.
They know nothing about me, and they have never tried to learn anything about me. The way they handled the whole situation and how they cut me off and discredited me has sat wrong with me since then.
I'm not the kind of person who jumps to conclusions, I prefer to know the facts before I grab onto something (such as spiritual warfare.) But it has made me think though, how often educated/smart Christians are quick to assume that the people they are talking too aren't smart or educated in what they are talking about. We discussed this in a group study last week about how important it is to "read the room". If someone feels that they are smarter, and feel that they need to correct someone that they know nothing about, it would be wiser for them to get to know the person they are talking to before correcting them, (hello there Proverbs 12:18!), finding out why they believe what they believe and why they feel like they do. Does it hurt to have someone your respect put you down? Yes it does. And it creates mistrust.
We all need to be careful to not just assume that the people who enter our circles are dumber than us or broken, and that we need to correct, teach and/or fix them. Maybe it's time to check the ego and see if maybe God brought them to you to help strengthen your circle with MORE Godly knowledge and not just be taught/corrected/reprimanded by you. And sometimes people are brought to us by God to challenge us and to push us in our learning to get us out of our comfort zone.
God doesn’t just bring us "project people", but He brings us helpers, teachers, prayer warriors, and those who can help lift us out of the pit when we find we've fallen into one.
He also brings us people who can tell us to check our ego, to remind us we've been too harsh, and that we need to calm it down a little bit.
HE brings them, we don't get to hand pick them.
I think learning about each other and learning from each other goes much further to binding us together as a family in God. Good teachers learn from their students too. Good leaders listen to their followers. And good friends don't just assume they are right all the time.
My advise?
Check yourself and if you find an ego instead of humility, drop the ego.
Open your ears, learn about other people's lives and goals and dreams and not just your own.
Learn about others and who they are.
Don't assume everyone you meet is waiting for you to fix them.
Build people up, don't just point out their flaws (which may only be a flaw in your eyes.)
Tell people, "You did good! I'm proud of you!" Stop telling people, "No, you are wrong and I am right."
It is impossible to know everything, to know the best way to do everything, and to hold all the answers. We should never stop learning, and we should be open to learning from those around us, even the ones we might have just met.
(Oh, and take responsibility for the times you shot your mouth off that just mighta just been outside of God's will.)
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