Better to be “mistreated” with God’s people ……

Heb. 11:  24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.

1 Tim. 6: 17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 

Paul goes on to admonish Timothy to encourage fellow believers to ‘be rich in good deeds, to be generous, and willing to share’.  With some small thought we can rightly conclude that part of our richness in this world is to come from our treatment of one another.  We are not meant to be islands to one another, only showing our faces at the church building door.  Godly fellowship, sharing of meals, meeting together sharing laughter and prayers, is also a grace gift of the blessings of community from the Lord.  

Yes, the world mistreats us as believers, and sometimes even fellow believers mistreat us, but it is still better to join together with our less than perfect brethren, than to separate and be friends with the world.

 

Comments

[Retha]

Amen. But it is sometimes hard, when even the bretheren do not understand your calling and vision.

[TL]

This is very true. However, God is able to use everything to help us mature into the person He wants us to become. We forget that this qualifies as the tribulation that builds character and in the end helps us to love God and people better. It's tough when we see others going along without having to stand up and fight for their right to be heard. But its really true that after we go through difficult situations, that if we disciplined ourselves to hang onto the Lord, we do change, we do become stronger.

I used to be so afraid when Christians mocked me and basically told me to shut up. And then one day I found that I could chuckle and smile at some demeaning comment. That was a miracle. Now I don't notice so much, but have a better sanity of mind to spend energy on finding a good answer.