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THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER VOLUME 4, NUMBER 45, NOVEMBER 7, 2004 ARE WE THINKING CORRECTLY? In 1 Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul writes about “a more excellent way”, which is the way of love. Among other things, in the chapter Paul writes about certain attitudes and actions that characterize the individual who truly has love in his or her heart. It is a beautiful chapter, the first seven verses of which are often read at weddings. They should be read much more often than that. In verses 4 – 7, we find, “Charity (love) suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” I want us to pay particularly close attention to the phrase, “believeth all things” found in verse 7. Let’s us mention briefly what Paul is not talking about. He is not saying that a Christian, in this context one who truly has the proper love in his heart, is necessarily gullible or cursed with credulity. However, what he is saying is vitally important. “Paul is saying that when love has no evidence to the contrary, it believes the best about its fellowman. It refuses to yield itself to unfounded suspicions and doubts; it grants the brother the benefit of every doubt in believing the very best he can about him.” (Willis, Mike, A Commentary on Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians, p. 458,459) I supplied the underlining for emphasis. “In regard to the conduct of others, there is a disposition to put the best construction on it; to believe that they may be actuated by good motives, and that they intend no injury; and that there is a willingness to suppose, as far as can be, that what is done is done consistently with friendship, good feeling, and virtue. Love produces this, because it rejoices in the happiness and virtue of others, and will not believe the contrary except on irrefragable evidence.” (Barnes, Albert, Barnes’ Notes, p. 773) Once again, I supplied the underlining. This is how a Christian should think. We must always be willing to think the very best of others, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. There should be no suspicions of less than righteous intent concerning what they say or do. Only indisputable evidence should cause us to think anything different than that. I believe when we have let love grow in our hearts as we should, and this is something that is learned and that grows as we mature spiritually, the suspicions of improper motives on the part of a brother should not even enter our minds. Let me give you an example of what I am talking about. Suppose that a brother of sister is making copies out of a copyrighted book for use in his or her Bible class. That is something that is illegal to do without permission from the publisher. If I am aware of a brother or sister involved in such a practice, if I have the love that I should have, my first thought will be that he or she is not aware of the law, or is not aware that the book is copyrighted. My thought will not be that that brother or sister is breaking the law, or is trying to steal the author’s work. If that is what I think, than I am not thinking correctly and I need to change my mindset. Let me give you another example that is more close to home. When the partitions were removed from the foyer for our final inspection by the country inspectors, if my thought was that the person responsible for that, in this case Marvin, was trying to be deceptive or to put something over on the county, than my thinking was incorrect. In truth, that kind of thought should never have even entered my mind. There has been no evidence ever to suggest that such deception would be the type of thing that Marvin would do. This is true, not just of Marvin, but it is true of how we ought to think about one another in general. If my first thought about the actions, and the motives behind the actions, of a brother or sister in Christ is to put the worse bent on it – I am far from what I need to be spiritually and I need to stop it. If I have allowed myself to develop that kind of a mindset, I need to change it. It does no good to say “That is just the way I am”, if “just the way I am” is wrong! This does not mean that we can’t disagree or ask questions about something. Of course we can. However, what I am writing about is our thought process. Surely we can see that there is a tremendous difference between thinking that a brother or sister has done something innocently than to think that what they have done was from improper motives. Where does that kind of thinking come from? It does not come from an understanding and application of the principles of 1 Corinthians 13. We need to go to the very heart of the matter and ask ourselves “Where do the kind of thoughts that I have about my brothers and sisters in Christ come from?” That is a vitally important question. What ultimately comes out of our mouths began deep within us. What we say is the result of what we are and if we view our brethren with a suspicious eye, always ready to questions their motives, what we are is not what we ought to be. Greg Litmer LOYALTY One of two brothers fighting in the same company in France fell by a German bullet. The one who escaped asked permission to go and bring his brother in. “He is probably dead,” said the officer, “and there is no use in risking your life to bring in his body.” But after further pleading the officer consented. Just as the solider reached the lines with his brother on his shoulders, the wounded man died. “There, you see,” said the officer, “you risked your life for nothing.” “No,” replied Tom. “I did what he expected of me, and I have my reward. When I crept up to him and took him in my arms, he said, ‘Tom, I knew you would come – I just felt you would come.’” There is the gist of it all – somebody expects something fine and noble and unselfish of us; someone expects us to be faithful. That someone is God. That’s how we ought to treat each other!
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