From http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Basics/peoplepain.htm
People = Pain
"And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." -John 16:22
By David J. Stewart August 2006
One of my web visitors recently sent me a letter and made the following statement ... "PEOPLE = PAIN." He shared his grief and sorrow with me concerning his wife divorcing him not too long ago. He said that several people had helped destroy his marriage by helping his wife become "empowered," and poisoning his wife's mind with feminist thinking. This is something that I hear often from husbands who are victims of a divorce. Say what you will, women are twice as likely to file for divorce than men. This is because of the evils of feminism. Feminism robs a husband of his Biblical authority over his own wife, and enables the wife to crucify her husband in a feminist biased court system. This is evil.
The Bible Foretold of These Perilous Times
We read in 2nd Timothy 3:1-7, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." The Scriptures we just read describe some very awful people, rotten to the core. Society is filled with such types of people today. Carefully notice the irony in verse 5 that many of these people are RELIGIOUS. Sadly, the divorce rate amongst professed "Christians" is just as high as it is amongst the unsaved heathens. It is sad that so many professed Christians are worldly, and hurt other people just like the unsaved do. This is a crying shame, and a great evil. The word "men" in 2nd Timothy 3:1 is used in a broad sense, and simply refers to "mankind" (which includes all women as well). The word "perilous" in verse 1 comes from the Greek word, "chalepos," and means, "hard to bear, hard to take, troublesome, fierce, harsh, dangerous." Thus, the Bible WARNS us that the last days will be a difficult time in which to live, because people will be selfish, cut-throat and wicked.
Jesus warned that the time will come when unbelievers will murder Christians, thinking they are doing God a favor. John 16:2 states, "They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." Bible-believing Christians will be rejected by their own churches, and the heathen will kill some of them for their Christian testimony. We are seeing this today around the world, and hostility is increasing in American society towards Christ-honoring, sin-hating, Hell-fire and damnation preaching, soulwinning believers who obey the Word of God. Christians who take an uncompromising stand against alcohol, homosexuality, feminism, false religion, witchcraft, gambling, rock music, immodest dress, abortion, evil in government, pornography, and other evils in society are increasingly being labeled as "hatemongers," "homophobes," and "terrorists." It is clear as to why the Lord needs to remove the true church from the world before the antichrist appears (2nd Thessalonians 2:7-10)--because we will expose the antichrist immediately.
We read in 2nd Timothy 3:13, "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." It is abundantly clear that the world is getting worse at an exponential rate. This is due largely to technological advances, which has allowed Satan to rebuild Babel once again (aka, the New World Order). The goal of this modern Babel is to unite mankind once again in rebellion against God and the Truth. The end result will be man's destruction!
Love Thy Neighbor
We are repeatedly commanded in the Bible to love our fellow mankind. Matthew 19:19 quotes Leviticus 19:18, saying, "...Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Now it's not always easy to love people; but God demands it of us. We don't have to like someone, nor do we have to even talk with them. This is NOT the world's love which God is speaking about. God's love is Biblical (Greek : agape) love, and it does not rest upon our own personal feelings. I might detest the site of someone, or the mention of that person's name; but I am still expected by God to care about them if they ever sincerely need and ask for my help. This is taught in the Biblical account of the good Samaritan. Howbeit, most people will never need our help. We can work with someone for 20 years, and they might never need our help. And if they did ever need help, they'd likely go out of their way to avoid us because of their contempt for God. All you can do with such people is to continue loving them in your heart, be respectful to them, and pray for their salvation or return to God.
The Bible teaches that no amount of faith, talent, preaching ability, or wisdom will mean anything if it is not encompassed with love (1st Corinthians 13:1-3). Love is genuine caring. It is caring about other people. People don't care nowadays because they don't have God's love. Caring always leads to action, and it causes us to do something. When we care about someone, we try to do something to help them. That's why I built this website, to reach out to others for God, because of God's love.
Three Enemies in Life
Ephesians 6:12 declares, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Satan works his evil through people (the world), by spiritually influencing them (through worldly movies, music, books, bad advice, heathen education, etc). The unsaved person is greatly susceptible to Satan's spirit (Ephesians 2:2). In sharp contrast, the Christian has the Word of God to light his path (Psalm 119:105).
Then there's the SIN-NATURE which we all have. Satan appeals greatly to the sin-nature, because the Devil always leads us to please the flesh. I'm not a Charismatic! Pentecostal Charismatics believes that every evil thing someone does is an indication of demon-possession. No sir, we are sinful enough because of our OWN sin-nature to do evil on our own. However, the Devil DOES have the power to INFLUENCE Christians to do evil. Satan cannot posses a believer, because our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1st Corinthians 3:17). As an example: Judas was not a Christian. The Bible never indicates that he became a Christian. Judas was a fake, and a known thief (John 12:6).
The Bible states that Satan entered into Judas (John 13:27). In contrast, Peter had been influenced by Satan; but was not possessed as was Judas (Matthew 16:23). Peter meant well; but was wrong in his thinking. No doubt, IGNORANCE is also one of our greatest enemies in life. This is true of many believers today. Most believers support George W. Bush--a known occultist, financier of abortion, con-artist, liar, mass-murderer, thief, and an unsaved heretic who believes that Muslims and Christians worship the same god. Most believers today have been brainwashed by Satan concerning the truth of what's going on in this world. If anybody should know what's going on, it's Christians--which is one reason why I made this website ... to wake Christian people up!
It's been said that the Devil plays a damnation guitar with three strings: the Devil, the world, and the flesh. These are our enemies in life. So we see that there are various influences at work on us all. Our most fierce enemy is the flesh (Romans 7:24). Yes, we are often our own worst enemy. Satan cannot defeat us unless we allow him to. It is true--Give the Devil an inch, and he'll become a ruler (pun intended). Don't you give him an inch! That's why I take an uncompromising stand against sin on this website ... I'm not giving the Devil any room to squirm or weasel his way around the truth.
People Will Hurt Us
People WILL hurt us. We all have memories of people whom we trusted who deeply hurt us, betraying our trust in them. Once our trust has been shattered, it's usually difficult to trust someone again. At a minimum, we are far more reluctant to be as trusting as we once were. Pain changes people. The first time you get that devastating phone call, you'll dread answering the phone for years to come. The first time that you get that lawsuit notice in your mailbox, you'll shake in your knees every time you open your mailbox. This is reality. An elderly man once told me, "Be nice to everybody; but trust no one." This is the common consensus nowadays. Truthfully, we need to be careful nowadays. Matthew 10:17 states, "But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues." In today's insane world, each believer needs to be alert, for Satan roams about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1st Peter 5:8). Satan works evil through his children, i.e., the unsaved people of this world (Ephesians 2:2). Notice that Matthew 10:17 doesn't tell us to fear men; but rather, to beware of men. In other words, we need to protect ourselves.
As believers, Satan will attack us at our weakest points (and he knows them well). We need to identify these personal areas of weakness and deal with them accordingly. We need to implement safeguards in our life to keep us from the temptations that will destroy us. We need to pray for God to help us. We must abide in the Scriptures daily, to keep our minds focused on the Lord. Soulwinning and contending for the faith are two great joys of the Christian life, and they are both commanded by God (Matthew 28:19-20; Jude 1:3). Every person alive today on this earth WILL be dead in 150 years from now. We ought to keep this thought in mind constantly, because this temporal life is insignificant in comparison to eternity. 6,300,000,000 people will all by dead in 150 years!!! Only what we do for Jesus' sake or the Gospel's will matter in eternity.
God warned us in 2nd Timothy 3:1-13 that these horrible days would come upon us. We are living in dark days. I recently heard in the news about a Church of Christ pastor's wife who shot her husband twice in the back with a shotgun ... while he was sleeping. In another story, a kindergartener was arrested for sexual harassment. Walt Disney's Desperate Housewives is straight from Hell, causing much lasciviousness and sexual sins. MTV and CMT are equally evil and lascivious. American's alone account for 25% of the world's sex-tourism. Christianity Today magazine gives positive reviews of Harry Potter's witchcraft. I know a Lutheran pastor who organized and drove his congregation to Las Vegas--SIN CITY! 37% of the occult Freemasonry membership in the U.S. are Southern Baptists. A Southern Baptist church in Tennessee recently called an ordained lesbian to be their pastor. I know a Christian man who's wife admitted to him after 10 years of marriage that she was a lesbian. Another Christian man's wife abandoned him and the kids without warning, and then filed for divorce with the help of a local Baptist church. This is evil folks! Churches are supposed to be building families, NOT destroying them. America's churches are becoming apostate, forsaking Jesus Christ the Word of God.
Yes, people will hurt you. They will try to destroy your family, and break up your marriage. In their hatred, they will give bad advice and encourage a man's wife to bail out, abandon, and divorce! Sadly, this destructive advice often comes from in-laws, so-called "friends," and family members. People will break their promises, lie to your face, and stab you in the back. Your friends will stab you in the front. People will slander you, discredit you, and assassinate your character. They will cut your throat with good intentions, and ruin your life with one seemingly innocent phone call to Child Protection Services or the Police. They will hurt you horribly, and not feel any remorse whatsoever. Some people are just woefully mean, like the adulterous woman in Proverb 30:20, "Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness." Listen to the powerful and shocking Words of Jeremiah 7:9-10 ...
"Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?"
So many people today, even many professed Christians, are committing the most wicked sins, claiming that God approves of their sins. They twist the Scriptures around, perverting the Bible. This is what God said they would do in 2nd Timothy 3:1-7, and in Romans 1:25. People today are living in great wickedness--divorcing, murdering their children through abortion, homosexuality, legally prostituting their bodies in Nevada (note: Nearly every city in America has escort services which are nearly all legalized covers for prostitution rings), gambling, getting drunk, engaging in witchcraft and occultism, indulging in pornography, committing fornication and adultery, rock music worship, and even bragging about their sins in "SIN CITY" Las Vegas. Yet, the average person sees no harm or consequences in such sinful living and greatly resents someone preaching against it. We are living in sick times. Christians claim to have a "right" to divorce; but they do NOT (Matthew 19:8). Homosexuals claim that Jesus taught love, and homosexuality is a form of love. Homosexuality is a sin (Romans 1). People call drunkenness a disease; but, it is a sin according to the Bible (Galatians 5:21). A recent monster is "feminist theology" which utterly perverts the truth to allow feminist thinking. God said that a man is to RULE over his own wife (Genesis 3:16). And then there's the tens-of-millions of aborted children who were murdered by a bunch of selfish jerks. We are living in deliberately confusing days in the world; but the believer won't be confused if he anchors himself firmly upon the Solid Rock, which is faith in Jesus Christ, and obedience to the Word of God.
Conclusion
People are people, and are all sinners. People will hurt us at times. We need to understand this, and be comforted that God said it would happen. Sadly, the people who are hurting us will likely burn in Hell one day, because they don't have Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. We need to rise above our own personal hurt feelings, and focus on winning souls to Jesus Christ. Let it go, and let God. God will make everything right in eternity (Romans 12:19; 14:12). Hopefully we have matured enough in the Lord as a believer, to where we strive not to hurt others. Then again, sometimes we need to express "tough love" to people, and they mistake that love for hatred or immaturity. Street preachers are often accused of being "narrow-minded" and "hatemongers." Nothing could be further from the truth. It is tough love, needed for a tough audience of Christ-rejecting sinners who are living in the pleasures of sin, and are bound for eternal Hell-fire. So a clear distinction needs to be made between sinfully hurting others, and Biblically contending for righteousness and faith.
As Christians, let us be careful not to be unkind or mean to others because of our own spiritual immaturity (Ephesians 4:31-32). Let us live for God, keep our promises, be fair, and love one another. Micah 6:8 states, "...what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" We are to walk with God, be just (fair) with people, and be merciful. When people hurt you, just think about 2nd Timothy 3:1-7, and be comforted that God said these days would come. God said that people would become rotten and malicious. Jesus said in Matthew 24:12 that the love of many would wax cold in the last days, because of iniquity (Greek: "anomia," which means, lawlessness and injustice) which would abound. The evils in government and our court systems today are unprecedented in American history. Society is morally bankrupt. People are tired, and distrustful. Everyone is suing everyone. Everything has to be politically correct nowadays, and it is utterly ridiculous. Homosexuals are crawling out of every sewer, labeling Christians as "hatemongers." In this present mayhem, it is becoming increasingly perilous for Christians. We are bombarded with perversion, temptations, persecution, rejection, and blaspheming of our Lord on a daily basis by the heathen world ... "That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world." (Philippians 2:15).
Just as a tiger, who turns against his trainer after years without incident, so may your wife, family, pastor, and "friends" attack and hurt you one day. It happens every day. Therefore, we need to focus upon the Lord and His Word, not people. People will hurt us; but the Lord has promised to NEVER leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). What a Savior!
Have you been hurt by someone? Has someone broken your marriage apart? Has a parent disowned you? Did someone whom you trusted stab you in the back? Are you being persecuted at work? Are you longing for the end of this life, to end your misery and pain? Yes, people do often equal pain; but Jesus will make it all right when we get to Heaven...
What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see. When I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace.When He takes me by the hand, and leads me to the Promised LandWhat a day, glorious day, that will be!
"And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." -John 16:22
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