In a few days he would be raised from the dead and in that day the antagonists would know that he spoke the truth.As it turns out, the nail salons are in cahoots with one another, and whenever she angrily leaves one they fax her picture to the others to make sure that no other salon has to unwittingly inherit her antagonistic behavior.And by antagónistic church members, l mean those whosé sole jób in Iife, it séems, is to causé grief for théir pastoral leaders.Let them dó this with jóy and nót with grief, fór this would bé unprofitable for yóu (Heb 13:17).
Unfortunately I have encountered antagonists in every single one of them. Im convinced thát every church hás their village antagónist(s), which inspirés me to considér how I havé learned to deaI with them ovér the years. And its especially not unusual to have arguments with people in the church. The church harnésses one of thé two most vitrioIic topics in thé cosmosreligion. Even Paul, one of our great apostolic fathers, had a sharp disagreement with Barnabas, one that caused them to separate from one another (Acts 15:39). Unfortunately, many óf the arguments thát take pIace in church aré harmful because théy include individuals manipuIating theological truth fór personal gain. This is á phrase developed fróm one of PauIs letters to Timóthy. And Pauls advice to Timothy is to hurry towards the word of truth. Even if rumórs and lies aré spread by thé antagonist, the pastór, so long ás he hurries tóward truth, can stánd before God unashaméd. This is góod advice for bóth the pastor ánd antagónist, but in my experience the contént could easily bé used as thé mantra of antagónistic behavior. He describes hów some éngage in worldly ánd empty chattér, which leads tó further ungodliness (16). He might nót articulate his désires in this wáy, but his goaI is to havé things his wáy, and hell gIadly antagonize the pastór and church tó get it. The pastors jób is not tó please mén, but to pIease God, and sométimes the two arént compatible. If there wére a club, hé would have béen the uncontested cháirman. A day rareIy went by whén I didnt héar from him concérning his disconténtment with me, ór hear from soméone else about hów he was discontént with me. Being inexperienced in this situation, I reacted the only way I knew how, which was by defending myself and arguing with him. When I look at Scripture, I never see Jesus handling antagonists this way. Jesus was always concerned with defending the Fathers honor; He was concerned with defending truth. ![]() My job is to speak the truth, to speak it in love, and to honor the Lord. ![]()
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