Friday, August
17, 2018
And now I make
one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and
upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. Such people are not
serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive
innocent people. But
everyone knows that you are obedient to the Lord. This makes me very happy. I want you to be wise in doing right and to
stay innocent of any wrong. The
God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Romans 16:17-20(NLT)
There is a distinction between
persistence and stubbornness. And though
that line appears somewhat thin, particularly at a first, casual
glance, the driving forces behind the persistent person are far-removed from
the one who is just stubborn.
Here are three of those differences:
1. Motive
Paul tells us a stubborn
person is interested in his own agenda, not serving Christ. Stubborn people want what they want, and
really don’t care what they have to do to achieve their personal gain. There is little integrity involved…only
achieving a desired outcome.
I once had a church leader
look me in the eye and inform me that the church would not follow me because I
was an outsider. He
said: Preachers come and go; we hire
and fire them, because we are the church here…not you.
We must be careful not to
judge motive too closely; we are not equipped to look inside another person and
understand his or her darkness. That is
God’s purview alone, along with deciding on what kind of correction is
needed. So understanding the driving
force of what motivates a stubborn person from within is given here to
help us keep a check on our own reasons for hanging-in, not judging or controlling
others.
2. Method
Paul holds up to the Roman
believers the chief ingredient of how stubborn people achieve their success –
deception. Paul got this from Jesus,
whose “discussions” with the religious leaders hardly ever went well. Their motives were selfish and controlling,
and their method was deceptive; Jesus finally had enough of it, and this is
what He said:
For you are
the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he
does. He was a murderer from the
beginning. He has always hated the
truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his
character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44(NLT)
A persistent person won’t
lie; he hangs-in with truth, no matter how tough it might be.
3. Result
The result of
selfishness-driven stubbornness, as opposed to unselfish persistence in the truth,
is as far removed as East is from West.
Stubborn people, living in ignorance or deception (and ignorance is a kind
of self-deception)
always create division. They might use
sweet-sounding words of cooperation and unity, but that kind of manipulation,
coupled with a selfish motive always divides.
On the other hand,
persistent, truth-holding, truth-living people are faithful; this is the result
which comes from people you can count-on to mean what they say, and do what
they say. There is a confidence that comes
with persistence in truth which builds trust and strength in those they serve.
So, persistence and stubbornness
are not even distant cousins!
For You Today
Does it seem sometimes like you
just can’t hang-in for much longer; like giving up is getting to be that corner
you’ve been dreading? That’s ok; it’s
one of the marks of people who walk by faith, and don’t try to manipulate just
to make things easier.
Hang-in, my brothers and sisters;
He may not be on your schedule, but He is always on time!
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