her grudge about her sister rather than crying out to the Lord to help the poor woman inside the cocktail joint. That is exactly what happens when one approaches the. wqrld with a heart filled with strife. Sooner or later you. yourself are going to get involved with, evil works just like this woman did. The origin of her evil works was in her heart. It was not the behaviour of the people around her, admittedly not what it ought to be, but her own inner responses to wrong doing. As she and I would come “right down to the wire,” the fundamental issue she had to come to grips with was namely, would she pray God’s forgiveness to wards these people. She would almost hysterically declare, “I don’t know what to say; I’m confused; I can’t get things straight.” Yes, where envy and strife is, there is confusion. This wo man knew what she needed to do. When anybody takes the position that they will not do the needful thing, confusion will result. It is a tragic situation. The key to help for this ,wo man was at the point where she re pented and cried out, as a penitent sinner, “O God, help me!” But she felt she still had these people to deal with. In actuality, she wouldn’t get anywhere until she dealt with her own need. “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gen tle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without par tiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace” (James 3:17, 18). There is another kind of response to life that is possible, but this doesn’t come on your own, it comes from above; it is something external to you. It is not for you to decide what the other person must do. Make certain that your own heart is right before the Lord, and rejoice in His blessed provision, The only way to effectively overcome evil is when your own heart is filled with that holy wisdom which is from above. * * * Make the most of life . . . before the most of life is gone. 9
They are willing to suffer a big head tomorrow for a little relief today. My client discovered, to her surprise, that a few drinks and she would think a little more kindly of the pastor that had gone, and this woman, and her sister. As a result she struck up this unfortunate relationship which went on for quite sometime. Understand, she was still busy in the church, but feel ing more miserable all thditime. It was with this backdrop that She came' to see me. Here was a woman with a heart filled with strife. This woman wasn’t all wrong. She had some basis for what .she was feeling and think ing. It is a tragic thing when a min ister lets you down, isn’t it? (It is a ,tragic thing when your own sister pushes you around and is most incon siderate.) She had a point there. And again, it is a tragic thing to see an other woman in the church, the pas tor’s own wife, going down hill. These things are all hard to take. What hap pens when you are confronted with difficulties and the problems of life around you? What do you do when people don’t treat you as they should; you are getting a dirty deal and are misunderstood? This is not a delusion, it is a fact. All of us face things in our lives that we cannot change. The Bible reminds us, “But if ye have bit ter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work” (James 3:14-16). There are many of us who grapple with evil but who are on the side of righteousness. But here was a woman who had become involved in evil. She certainly didn’t start out that way. At the outset she was not active ly involved. The more she brooded the more her heart was filled with strife and bitterness. She didn’t cry out to God for a spirit of patience toward these people. She wasn’t praying for the minister, she was brooding about him. She condemned him in her own heart. The same was true of the others about whom she thought. She nursed
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker