Or, "Don't be stupid; be nice"?
There have been too many times in my life that I have been wise as a dove and harmless as a serpent. I have repented of this, and pray that I would only manifest our Lord Jesus' command to be the opposite, "....wise as serpents and harmless as doves."
Webster's defines "dove" as, "One who takes a conciliatory attitude and advocates negotiations and compromise," and serpent as, "a noxious creature that creeps, hisses, or stings." Now I know to the "super spiritual," the words "negotiat[e] and compromise," are bad words. "I don't compromise anything with anybody." What eventually happens to such look-at-me-I-walk-in-truth people, however, is that they end up like "creeps, hiss[ing and ] sting[ing." Many of such people are of those who just need to be busy, doing something, active. What is on the receiving end of this does not really matter all that much.
We do not "compromise and negotiate" Jesus, His Words, but there is a command in our text to have a "conciliatory" attitude and posture with others. The dictionary uses "conciliatory" in a phrase as, "Ease the tension with conciliatory remarks." My Dad and Mom were geniuses at this. Compromise was not the issue, yet the Biblical admonition, however, "Be at peace among yourselves," was.
Perhaps we could sum up our text as, "Followers of Jesus must be nice."
Father, in Jesus' Name, May I walk in all that You mean in Mt. 1o:16. Amen.
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To DC, Thursday, July 13
Webster's defines "dove" as, "One who takes a conciliatory attitude and advocates negotiations and compromise," and serpent as, "a noxious creature that creeps, hisses, or stings." Now I know to the "super spiritual," the words "negotiat[e] and compromise," are bad words. "I don't compromise anything with anybody." What eventually happens to such look-at-me-I-walk-in-truth people, however, is that they end up like "creeps, hiss[ing and ] sting[ing." Many of such people are of those who just need to be busy, doing something, active. What is on the receiving end of this does not really matter all that much.
We do not "compromise and negotiate" Jesus, His Words, but there is a command in our text to have a "conciliatory" attitude and posture with others. The dictionary uses "conciliatory" in a phrase as, "Ease the tension with conciliatory remarks." My Dad and Mom were geniuses at this. Compromise was not the issue, yet the Biblical admonition, however, "Be at peace among yourselves," was.
Perhaps we could sum up our text as, "Followers of Jesus must be nice."
Father, in Jesus' Name, May I walk in all that You mean in Mt. 1o:16. Amen.
************************
To DC, Thursday, July 13
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
