Christian Living

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When my children were little and someone would call them “stupid” or some other ugly name I’d get
really upset. They aren’t little anymore but I still get pretty upset when that happens.
I had a neighbor who used to call each one of my children names. We had “Lumpy” and others in our family as far as she was concerned. I know she wasn’t trying to be mean but it used to irritate me to no end.
Every time she called them that the hairs on my neck would stand up straight.
It seemed when she was taking a “poke” at my kids she was taking a “poke” at me. It wasn’t nice and it wasn’t harmless. It hurt. Every time I heard it, it seemed as though it was not only a poor reflection on them but their entire genealogy .
I love my kids very much. They’re my family.
Where I come from you look out for family.
Parents protect their kids. Brothers and sisters protect each other. Kids protect their parents.
It’s like that with most people. Everybody protects each other. That’s just the way things are supposed to be.
Calling someone a name isn’t a smart thing to do. It’s going to get a brother, sister, mother, father or even a distant cousin angry with you.
You shouldn’t do it. It’s plain rude. It’s WRONG.
As a Christian, my family is of royal blood. My Father is the Almighty Living God. My brother is Jesus. The Holy Ghost is family, too. For that matter, all Christians are my brothers and sisters. It’s a big family.
We look out for each other. And He looks out for us. All of us.
He gets upset when someone calls one of His kids ugly names or does a nasty deed to us.

“...I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse...”
Genesis 12:3 (N I V)

It’s not just a bad thing to God it’s SIN.
Sin has consequences. It doesn’t matter how many times you go to church. Sin is always repaid. ALWAYS.
It doesn’t matter whether you meant to be mean or not. Don’t do it.
Sin is sin. It’s all equal. There’s no such thing as a bigger sin.
Murder is just as bad as calling someone names.
(I’m not suggesting you go out and murder----you‘re still sinning.)
When you call somebody foul things that’s the same as calling God’s kid, His creation, foul things.
You’re questioning whether God did a good job with that person’s creation. You’re questioning God’s abilities.
In that perspective it doesn’t seem so harmless, does it?

God will still love you. He’ll still want you in the family. He’ll still look out for you.
He hates the sin, not you.
I hated the things my neighbor said but I still liked her. She was a good neighbor and a good friend.

Before you say something nasty about someone THINK about it. You might even want to say something nice. That would open you up to the blessings of God.
Read the passage again and you’ll understand what I mean.

If someone’s been calling you names, don’t worry about it. Your Father’s got you covered. You’re in the family and family takes care of family. We’ve got one very big family, too. We’re special. We’re of a royal blood line. Now who’s going to name-call the King’s kid and get away with it?

I guess that’s what the Bible means when we’re told to fill our mouths with good things. That’s good advice. I’m going to try it, how about you?

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