Kak

Q.41. Having great wealth and knowledge can make us feel proud and to look down of people who are poor or those who maybe haven’t had the same educational opportunities as we have. If this is our attitude, we have forgotten that everything we have has been given to us by God. We would have none of our possessions or abilities unless God has given them to us. We need to concentrate on why we have been so privileged by God! What does He want us to do with our abilities and money? What a blessing to be in a position to help others either by supporting established Christian charities, or going to places where we can use our education and skills to help others. Sometimes people who hold heresies and false doctrine are rigid and proud. Therefore they are not prepared to discuss and listen to other opinions.

Q. 40. Jesus treats us all equally, He has no favorites, as Christians trying to walk in His footsteps we should follow His example. Every person is made in God’s image, and that is how we should treat them. Sometimes this can be hard, if someone is disrespectful or rude, unthankful, unloving or has wronged you in some way. This is where our humility either shows or pride rears its head. It is something I have to continually work on and don’t always succeed! I think too much about myself and how it affects me! There are many poor people in our towns, lots of newly arrived refugees and those who are struggling in many ways. Unfortunately there is very little being done by our Church to address this issue. Sometimes in the church are involved in various organisations helping the poor but it is done on a personal basis. At the moment our Church is going through major change and it has been a struggle to just survive over the last few years. But hopefully within the next few months a new Pastor will be starting and gradually these issues will be addressed. I really don’t know the answer to the last part of the question. I presume that if non believers who are watching us saw no favouritism they would be impressed, but I wonder would they even notice? I suppose if they saw a Christian showing favour to someone, maybe in church, they would be quick to notice that, and comment adversely to it.

Q.39. As followers of Christ we are called to be humble and in our humble state we must forgive from our hearts those that offend and hurt us. Having a vengeful heart is not part of being humble. We are not humble if we are looking for vengeance, we are full of pride. We must seek to forgive people but we must not get involved in judicial proceedings. They are for the law keepers in the country,we live in to deal with.

Q.38.When we judge others we are feeling superior to this person. I wouldn’t do what they are doing so I think I am better than they are and I feel justified to judge. Not so! We are displaying a judgemental spirit and total lack of humility and personal insight. Jesus is merciful therefore we must show mercy to people functioning in a fallen world, where little mercy is shown. Within our Christian community we must always have God as our measure and example if we study the word and imitate Jesus we won’t go wrong. If we compare ourselves with others we either think we are better than them , which is pride, or we feel inferior which can lead to dissatisfaction or low self esteem. We must learn to be ourselves and accept ourselves as God has made us and whatever lifestyle He has given to us. It is an insult to God to want to be like someone else or to have what others have. It is not the way God wants us to live. Also if our lives are focused on thinking about such things we are not engaging with God throughout the day. If we are engaging in thoughts about being better than others around us, we are being proud and we are showing very little humility. When we judge others we tend to gossip, or worse say bad things about them and are critical of them.

Q37. If we are conceited we are proud and not humble. We will be unlikely to live in harmony with others! God has called His followers to be humble and to respect and honor others around us. God considers us all to be equal and He has made us all in His own image. Jesus wants us maintain the unity of the Spirit because we are His representatives on this earth. Jesus was our greatest example of humility and there was great unity between Jesus and His disciples. If we truly love God and our Church body and family we will at all times try as far as it is in our power to maintain the unity of the Spirit. The unity is the glue which keeps the body bound together. In my church we have a wonderful sense of unity cooperation and hard work. However we have been through a very hard, discouraging time because of discipline issues within the church. It torn the church apart! It has been a huge learning curve that I hope will never happen again. But God is faithful He has brought us through it and the church is beginning to thrive again. With some leaving sadly, but others including myself deciding to be guided by God’s word and to trust Him and carryon. It has taken three years and a lot of heartache and our dear Pastor having a break down and resigning, but God is leading and guiding us into the future . We have all learnt that unity is precious and needs to be worked on , and we all have a major part to play. None of us can be passive members we all must play our part, no matter how humble it may be.The most important piece of learning for me was that no matter how difficult a situation is , as followers of Jesus we must obey Scripture. We are serving God not Man!

Q.36.The relationship of impatience to humility, is the fact that when you are humble you are less likely to be impatient. Impatience usually comes from rushing, wanting to get ahead, not being prepared to wait for your children in the morning when there is pressure to get to work, school etc. A humble disciplined person anticipates things and prepares in advance. We can be long suffering in a situation by being totally trusting in God for His help and guidance through it. We can praise God for everything positive that happens in the difficult situation. There is always positive things happening if we look for them and see God’s grace and blessings present. In marriage we have to be forbearing to enable our marriages to last! We all have ways and habit that are annoying to others and especially to our spouses. Taking my attitudes to God has certainly helped me, once I realised I wasn’t going to change my husband! But it has taken many years of trial and error to be at a stage of peace tranquility, friendship and contentment. Without the constant help from God I would not have had the strength and forbearance. Praise God.

Q.35.In general we do not like to be submissive to others. However as Christian’s we are called by God to be submissive to our husbands and our leaders at church but also at work or any place we frequent where there is a leader. Most of the time it is not a problem, but sometimes we can come across leaders who are not nice people and we can find it difficult to be submissive to them. We must remember this does happen and we are called to continue to be submissive and cooperate with the difficult person. We have Divine help available to us, in prayer and we can also work as though we are working for the Lord. This can give us a new sense of purpose and a determination not to allow this difficult person drag you down. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. We are Glorifying God when we keep our Christian principles intact despite being tested by a difficult situation.

Q.34.Respect is a key element of humility. If we are humble we respect others and think of them as better than ourselves. Because of this respect and thinking of others above ourselves we treat others gently, courteously, kindly , patiently and without insults, this is humility. We love God and want to honour and obey Him. If we do not respect someone it will be very difficult to minister to them. We have to put our disrespectful hearts to one side and treat the person just as you know Christ would treat them. If they detect a sense of disrespect from you they will not be open to hearing you speak of Jesus. We could be responsible for losing an opportunity to share God’s love because of our attitude! If we use insults we are not humble because insulting language suggests that we think we are better or more important than the person we have insulted and that is not a humble attitude to have. If we interrupt someone when they are speaking it shows that we are not really interested in what that person is telling us. It also tells the other person “listen to me, what I have to say is so much more interesting and important.”We are making ourselves out to be more important and possibly more knowledgeable than the other person. This does not show any humility but only pride, disrespect and contempt for the other person. This behavior does not Glorify God. May God show us our pride and help us to be humble like Jesus was. What a great example we have in Jesus.

Q.33. Temperance is when we partake in something but don’t overdo it. We are in control of what we are doing. Abstinence is when we don’t partake in something.Some Christians do not partake in alcohol or cigarettes not primarily for health reasons but because our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and therefore must be kept pure and clean. Alcohol and drugs can disrupt the humble life because they so easily become an addiction and then all self control and discipline are gone. Our thoughts certainly will not be on God but on our next drink or fix. Even if no addiction occurs, I don’t think drug taking and the humble life walking with our God are compatible. Our bodies are not our own they have been bought at a very high price! The death of our Saviour on a cross. As Christian’s we are God’s representatives on the earth. Everything we do must be worthy of Him. Especially in the company of others, either Christian or nonbelievers our conduct must be exemplary at all times. At all times we must be self controlled . Moderation in all things suggests that everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial in the Christian life. We certainly must not be moderate in our worship of God. We also need to gauge situations in case our behavior could be detrimental to someone else. I feel myself and I know not everyone would agree, that in the Christian life certain things are best avoided altogether. In this way no mistakes will be made, no one will be affected by my actions if I am not self controlled and most important I will not dishonour my Lord and Saviour.

Q.32. When we become believers we are made new by Christ , the old way of life is gone, that is following our own desires and passions. We are new creations , our old ways of self are a thing of the past and we are following and adapting to a new life style of humility, compassion and trust in God. We want to please God and so we become the gloves of Christ doing good deeds in His name because we love Him and want to follow Him. In the early Church the people did everything together, they pooled their resources and made sure everyone was fed and there was particular emphasis on widows and orphans. They went to each others home where they prayed and had fellowship together. Ephesians 2v10 For we are Gods handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. When we are saved God has good works for us to do, it is part of working as a follower of Jesus. So no it is not possible to have true faith in Jesus the Son of God without Good deeds.

Q.31. When we are full of pride we tend to argue and conflict arises. Because of our pride and self righteousness we keep on arguing because we think we are right. It doesn’t occur to us that we could be wrong! We are also selfish and conceited , thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought. Conflict will continue until we realise our pride and selfishness and repent and adopt a humble attitude and life style. We are told in God’s word that as far as it is possible we should live at peace with everyone. Sometimes we have to leave some subject alone when we know it will cause conflict. It can show a strength of character but more importantly we are being humble and honouring God.

Q30. Few of us are humble so when we decide to follow Jesus we need to reign ourselves in and start to live a quieter life in surrender to Our Lord and Saviour. This takes time and practise because up to this we felt free to live in whatever way we felt like we wanted to. Now with the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit we seek to live differently. We live to please Jesus,by being submissive to Him and obeying His commands.

Q22.Because of our sinful nature we are by default full of pride. With the help of the Holy Spirit we have to change our prideful ways and fight to changes our ways and attitudes to humility. This would not be possible if we did not seek help from God through the Holy Spirit. This is something we must attend to daily, it is called Sanctification and is a lifelong process. It is God who Sanctifies us but we must play our part as well. We need to guard our hearts by being constantly aware of what we are doing and saying, how we entertain ourselves, how we conduct our lives and how we treat others. We also need time spent in God’s Word , so we can learn from Him how we must live our lives in order to please Him and glorify Him.

Q.21. When we serve widows and orphans we are serving those that are poor and who can give nothing in return. This is what Jesus wants us to do, to be humble and serve those who desperately need our care, time and devotion and we do it for God not for climbing the social ladder. Because we are serving those who cannot pay us back we are showing that we are humble and doing just as we have been commanded. We wouldn’t do it if we weren’t humble. Dorcas and Mother Teresa are inspiring because they have shown from their lives exactly what it looks like to be humble and serve the Lord in the most difficult of situations. Places and situations that many people would not get involved in. I’m not saying it is easy to go and serve people who are dirty, ill, riddled with disease or living in deplorable conditions but if we are doing it for the Lord , He gives the grace and desire that we need to accomplish the task.

Q.20. The sheep in the parable are people who go out of their way to help those in need. Jesus tell us that even a simple act like giving someone a cup of water in the name of Jesus will not go without being rewarded. The cup of water is a picture of someone doing a simple act for the love for Jesus and even a simple act will have its reward. We can work in a food bank, visit the lonely, donate food, clothes etc to charity. We can also help in soup runs at night, or help serve meals in homeless shelters. Volunteer to help sort clothes for the homeless. Very often it depends on where you live and what services are in place and the need for volunteers. Even in our own circle of communication there are lonely people, young mums struggling to manage, older people who need support in various ways. It is about each of us being alert and finding ways in which we can serve people.