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 al most 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 woman knew what she needed to do. When anybody takes the posi tion that they will not do the need ful thing, confusion will result. It is a tragic situation. The key to help for this woman was at the point where she repented and cried out, as a penitent sinner, “0 God, help me!” But she felt she still had these peo ple 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, gentle, and easy to be in- treated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hyp ocrisy. And the fruit of righteous ness is sown in peace of them that make peace” (James 3:17, 18). An other kind of response to life is pos sible, but this doesn’t come on your own, it comes from above; it is some thing 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 overcome evil effectively is when your own heart is filled with that holy wisdom which is from above. A TEACHER'S PRAYER Lord, who am I to show the way To little children day by day, Myself so prone to go astray. I teach them wldsom, but I know How faint It flickers, and how low The candles of my knowledge glow. I teach them love for all mankind And all God's children, then I find M y own love lagging far behind. Lord, If their guide I still must be, O let these little children see Their teacher leaning hard on Thee!
you around and is most inconsider ate.) 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 downhill. These things are all hard to take. What happens when you are con fronted with difficulties and the prob lems 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 bitter 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 whe r e 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 righteous ness. But here was a woman who had become involved in evil. She certain ly didn’t start out that way. At the outset she was not actively involved. The more she brooded the more her heart was filled with strife and bit terness. 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 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 world 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 peo ple 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 18
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