“Keep it real,” “Keep it 100,” these are phrases that are used very often in our generation. We live in the “eye for an eye” mind set. “If you don’t like me, I don’t like you, if I don’t mess with you, I’m not going to be fake to try to get along with another fake person, they don’t come to my stuff so I’m not going to theirs. “We all have heard people use these phrases and have often said them ourselves. Many people who are not even part of the offense chime in and hype up the plaintiff reassuring them that if they engage in anything opposite than the previous statements, they will be labeled as being “fake” and that just isn’t cool. Then you have those who are “killing them with kindness” with the intent of using some type of reverse psychology to have the other person believe there is no problem between the two.
I have experienced both sides of this issue, I was the offended and the offender at some point. I did not see the dangers of playing both sides of the fence until when giving a friend advice on a situation, God corrected me as well in my situation. People are so consumed with how they “look” to other people that they are willing to just follow the crowd than do what’s right. Let me first start off by saying that , ” The word of God is alive and active, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.” Hebrews 4:12,13 The word is as relevant today as it was in the beginning of everything.
The old testaments speaks about handling offenses an eye for an eye. That however is under the old law. When Jesus came, he gave us a new command. “Love one another as I have loved you. So you must love one another.” John 14:34 He also says, Love your enemies do good to those who persecute you, bless those who curse your, and pray for those who mistreat you. Luke 6:27 We are to treat others the way we would want to be treated and this includes our enemies. “If you love those who love you, what reward is there in that? Even sinners love those who love them and if you do good to only those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?” Even sinners do that.
We are to bless and not curse, when they slap us, we are to turn to the the other cheek. Our “friends” and flesh will have us to believe that by doing so we are being “fake;” we are instructed to walk in the spirit so we will not fulfill the fleshly desires- Galatians 5:16 We were not placed in this world to please man or seek their approval or find people to hype us up in our wrong behavior. We are here to please the most high and when a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies be at peace with him- Proverbs 16:7 God is for you when you treat your adversaries well without any hidden motives, and if God be for you who can be against you?
Satan does not want any additions to the army of the kingdom. He will use anything and anyone to stunt your spiritual growth. Even friends. Jesus faced this very issue when his friend, Peter, rebuked him from saying he would have to die. Jesus knew that it was not his friend speaking but his adversary through his friend, so Jesus says to him, “Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” – Matthew 16:23 Satan will use your friends to help confirm and aid you in sinning against Jesus’s command of loving your enemies. The Bible says that we are to encourage one another and build each other up. 1 Thess. 5:11 A true friend encourages growth, if you have someone in your corner agreeing with and causing confusion, you should recognize that as the work of Satan. God is not a god of confusion or disorder but of peace. 1 Corinth. 14:13 We are to do what’s right in the sight of all men. That means treat your enemies with respect and courtesy in front of everyone. Doing so does not make you fake, phony or fraud; it’s doing what is RIGHT, and that’s “keeping it real”.
“Let us not become weary in doing good for in due season, we will reap if we faint not” Galatians 6:9
-Be Blessed
Picture by: Toughmindedoptisim
Starving Christians 