Can we practice the Christ part of Christmas year around?
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” – Colossians 3:12-13, ESV
There’s no denying that people are capable of goodness toward each other. Our emotions can get the best of us. Within a minute, sin can bring about extreme emotions.
Emotions such as joy, excitement, anxiousness, irritation, and loneliness can cause extreme actions and/or reactions. It appears people vacillate between happiness and disenchantment.
As I encounter people, I always make attempts to get them to think for themselves. It is my duty as a leader to offer a biblical perspective to the world. In my haste and persistence, I am often seen as rough; thankfully, man is not my judge and will not determine where I spend eternity.Often, I leap into overdrive, wanting to get people out of their comfort zones and into exploring different perspectives. Being a leader means we must be examples to the world by apologizing and asking God to guide our tongues. Today, I ask Him to guide my tongue and my fingers and keep my words pure.
When I was a child, when the church was about to be dismissed, our Pastor would say, repeat after me, ” Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in God’s sight.” That is my brief prayer for now. Instead of (scolding) going back and forth, I will say to myself, “It’s okay; you made your point; no response is needed.”
My motto is to accept things I have no control over. You cannot be a good leader if you are caught up in emotions and passions. You must be unapologetic about dispensing God’s Word. Emotions do not move God; if we represent our Savior Jesus Christ to the world, we must give our emotions to God and ask him to guide our minds, tongues, and fingers. Now we can type words for the entire public to see.
It is my hope that we will go into 2023 with the mind to be kind, long-suffering, and humble with each other as we move forward in making our neighborhood better than making our city better.
II Timothy 3:16 tells us: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” so that each of us can be “complete” equipped for every good work.”
That is my goal and my desire to teach, preach and spread the scriptures to failing people. Then I will be complete in the work God has given to me.
May 2023 be better than 2022.
Dr. K.J. Crowell-Grate, PH.D.