One Another #6 - Negatives

Along with all the things we should be doing for one another, there are five verses about what we shouldn't do.

"Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another." Galatians 5:26

"Do not lie to one another." Colossians 3:9

"Do not complain, brethren, against one another." James 5:9

"Do not speak against one another." James 4:11

And my personal favorite: "But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you are not consumed by one another." Galatians 5:15

All joking aside, these verses show that along with having a huge potential to do good to one other, we also are quite capable of tearing each other to bits.

Do you feel like you have a valid complaint to make about another believer? Take a look at the context of James 5:9. James does not brush aside the reasons Christians have to complain. Instead, he points us to Christ in two ways. The first is that complaining opens us up to be censured by Christ for the same offence (the ol' mote in his eye, beam in yours idea). The second is that if we handle the offence patiently, we have Christ's compassion and mercy to look forward to. Take the example of Job. Though God did not explain Job's predicament to him, He also did not let Job's tormentors go unreprimanded.

Instead of telling all your friend about the person who offends you, try to imagine how you would like Christ to respond to you if you treated Him the way your offender treated you. Once you know what Christ would do, you have a pattern to follow in your dealings with that person.

Since there are so many positive things we can do for one another, let's get the negatives out of the way and focus on building rather than biting.

Rachel Potter