Overlooking Your Friend’s Faults
Jun 21
by Victoria Robinson
Girlfriends, we all know that a mirror can either be our friend or enemy. If we are feeling good about the way we look then the mirror is our friend and if we do not like the way we look we tend to avoid looking in a mirror. However, even if we avoid gazing at our own faults, it is easy to walk around noticing the faults of others. Seeing a friend who looks bad in an ugly outfit is not nearly as painful as seeing ourself looking just as bad. Spiritually speaking, we do the same thing. The faults of others are so evident to us while we are blind to our own.
The surest way to know we have mastered overlooking our friend’s faults is to examine our first response. There is nothing wrong with us noticing sin in others and yet how we react is very telling of our own hearts. Is it, “Oh my!” or is it “I must pray for them.” Are we motivated by our love for them or just being critical? Another important response is, “Do I have that same sin in my heart?” The truth is, sometimes the reason we are critical of others is because we are plagued with the very same faults.
Overlooking a friend’s faults does not mean we ignore the problem. The Word of God clearly tells us that we are help our friends when they are caught in sin. However, and here’s the painful part, we are to examine our own hearts and remove any sin we have. Then we will be able to see clearly to help our friend.
Dearest girlfriends, let us love and be patient with our friends when it comes to their faults while we examine our own hearts.
Disregarding another person’s faults preserves love; telling about them separates close friends. ~ Proverbs 17:9 NLT
Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. ~ Ephesians 4:2 CEV
You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. ~ Colossians 3:13 NLT
“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. ~ Luke 6:41-42 NLT
Let everyone be sure that he is doing his very best, for then he will have the personal satisfaction of work well done and won’t need to compare himself with someone else. Each of us must bear some faults and burdens of his own. For none of us is perfect! ~ Galatians 6:4-5 TLB
Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love makes up for many of your faults. ~ 1 Peter 4:8 TLB
Tags: close friends, colossians 3, ephesians 4, finding fault, first response, heart, hearts, mirror, nlt, overlooking faults, proverbs, speck, truth, Victoria Robinson, Word of God 
Posted in A Godly Life, Dealing With Sin, Friendship, Resisting Sin | Comments Off on Overlooking Your Friend’s Faults
Showing Contempt for the Riches of His Kindness
Jan 22
by Victoria Robinson
One of the attributes of your heavenly Father is kindness. Kindness is such a beautiful word. The Greek word for kindness is chrestotes which means: gentleness, moral goodness, integrity, and benignity. The Word of God describes kindness as one of the riches of God. So how is it we can show contempt for one of the great attributes of our heavenly Father? In the book of Romans it states, “… do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?” We do this by passing judgement on others, thus condemning ourselves. This judgement harkens to the words written by Luke, the physician, “You can see the speck in your friend’s eye. But you don’t notice the log in your own eye.”
Dearest girlfriends, let us not show contempt for the rich kindness of our heavenly father by judging others instead of examining our own hearts.
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance? ~ Romans 2:1-4 NIV
You can see the speck in your friend’s eye. But you don’t notice the log in your own eye. How can you say, “My friend, let me take the speck out of your eye,” when you don’t see the log in your own eye? You show-offs! First, get the log out of your own eye. Then you can see how to take the speck out of your friend’s eye. ~ Luke 6:41-42 CEV
So why do you condemn another Christian? Why do you look down on another Christian? Remember, each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God. For the Scriptures say, “ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow to me and every tongue will confess allegiance to God.’ ”Yes, each of us will have to give a personal account to God. So don’t condemn each other anymore. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not put an obstacle in another Christian’s path. ~ Romans 14:10-13 NLT
Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. ~ Romans 11:22 NIV
Tags: attributes, book of romans, contempt, excuse, gentleness, greek word, harkens, heavenly father, judging others, judgment against, kindness, moral goodness, own eye, passing judgement, patience, repentance, speck, tolerance, Victoria Robinson, Word of God
Posted in A Godly Life | Comments Off on Showing Contempt for the Riches of His Kindness