Some People!

Something has been bothering me so I'm just gonna go ahead and talk about it. I'm just gonna say what's been on my mind. If you go to church, most likely you'll know where I'm coming from.

Appreciate your pastors. A lot of people don't know, or maybe some of you do know, but sermons don't preach themselves. It takes study, time & preparation.

My husband is my pastor. I see first hand his hard work & dedication. I know the time he spends studying and preparing for each sermon. Believe me. There have been plenty of times my husband has stayed home on a Saturday so he can finish up his sermon notes instead of coming with me & the kids out to the movies or miniature golf. The times he leaves family gatherings early so he can put the finishing touches on his sermon or make sure the song leader got his email for his pick for the closing song.

I see the excitement in his eyes when he tells me the ideas he has for his sermons. I know the genuine thought, care & love he has for each member of our congregation. I'm the one he follows around from room to room with excitement in his voice telling me about what scriptures God has led him to for this weeks sermon.

Not to mention my husband went to school so he can learn more about the Bible, God & Theology. I won't go into how much time that took away from his family to earn a degree in something my husband dearly loves and loves to share with others each Sunday while also working full time.

So, why is it that some people constantly feel they have to put their two cents in, criticize, be ugly & rude to my husband. Yet you come back week after week. Why? Some people!

Then there are others who give me a cross look when my children misbehave and then they feel they have to give me parenting advise all the while telling me my children would be much better off if I was a stay at home mom & home schooled. I don't like it when my children misbehave. I get rather embarrassed when they choose to show their carnal side in the Lord's house when I know they know better. And believe me, we address their behavior, at home! And I would love to be a stay at home wife & mom, but my  choosing to work outside the home is not their business!! Some people!

It seems there is a bad habit amongst Christians; tearing each other down. They have their own opinions. Everyone does, but their opinions & pride seem to rule over compassion, selflessness & love.

1 Corinthians 13:13

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

The Bible talks quite a bit on love, what it is and what it is not. You must have love.

1 Corinthians 13:3 says

If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

You need love in your heart. This is simple & basic but so important. I tell my children all the time, what comes out of your mouth comes from your heart. When my son gets upset at his sister, his first instinct is to start spewing ugly names and hurtful words at her. I tell him to stop, think about what he says before he says it, because once the ugly words come out, you cannot take them back. Once you hurt someone with your words, whether they are spoken words or written down in letter form, they cannot be taken back. But words that are said in love, sometimes they might hurt. But, they will be considered much more than words from a hard heart.

But Ethan is still only 8 & we are doing our best to train our kids & show them Godly love for others. I pray for others who come to church & the only thing that goes through their mind is trying to find mistakes in the sermon or thinking how much they don't like certain music, etc. 

I'm certainly not perfect myself. I have been just as guilty about having a bad attitude while in church instead of focusing on my Lord. But I know with all my heart that God is still working on me. He's teaching me a thing or two about being a pastor's wife, a mom & the true meaning of the fruit of the spirit. Especially love. Which happens to be the first mentioned.

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.