Is it not the truth?  Some people argue, bash and complain like it’s there job, literally their lifestyle.  Though it’s the very thing that most hate to be around, it also seems to be the most popular thing to do. Some it’s there way of getting attention and/or sharing with the world their frustration.  Cry me a river will ya?  Actually please don’t, I really don’t want to hear about it, unless you can speak from a place of seeing life from another perspective, unless it morally stands against God’s standards.  I do my best to see things from Paul’s & Christ’s mindset, especially politics.  Of course it’s okay to talk about such things, but let me make the follow statement.  A friend of mine constantly bashes Trump.  It’s non stop and is getting very irritable.  We have moments where we engage in a friendly debate, but it’s very downhearted and wicked to constantly tear someone down, over the same issues, even though the political party of your choice made the same choices before, especially when it’s coming from someone who claims to be a Christian.  No, I’m not saying if you’re a Christian you have to be a republican or a Trump supporter.  It’s simple,…

Mark 12:29-31  (NLT)

²⁹ Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. ³⁰ And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’^[a] 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b] No other commandment is greater than these.”

Whatever leader you have above you, from the President of the United States to your small business workplace, can you tell me how one, who claims to be a Christian, finds it to be okay to downgrade others, unless they themselves are going to do their part to help find solutions to the problems?  These type of ABC’s are what ruins the day for me.  We need to have Christians in the political realm, but only if they’re actually going to do what’s necessary and morally right in the eyes of God.

It is me or do many followers take Jesus’ words light hearted?  Loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength is saying a lot.  It means that no matter what you go through, or who you come in contact with, you must demonstrate to God that you Love Him, through your words and actions, not just towards Hm, but towards others (Matt 25:40-45).  Not just whenever you feel like it either, because most of the time, when it comes to someone disagree with, you’ll never feel like loving them, unless you stop to realize that the most powerful action that will cause a ruckus for God in this world, is indeed and I quote loving “…your neighbor as yourself.”

For people who have the time to follow through with their ABC’s of annoyance, must really love themselves since they act as if they have all the answers to others problems.

I know what its like to hear a broken record, times I even I got tired of listening to myself.  The image and reputation that comes with it, it’s not so pretty, and no one wants to be around that.  Unless they themselves are a broken record, then the both of them might be a match made in gossip land.  But chew of these teachings Paul and Jesus give us.

Philippians 2:14-16 (NLT)

¹⁴ Do everything without complaining and arguing, ¹⁵ so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. ¹⁶ Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.

We are to think the best of others, despite their flaws, and remember the flaws that we need to work on ourselves.  I find it more uplifting to live life by this motto.  That fact that Paul encourages us to do so, it seems to help take the load off that we should not be anxious.  He clearly specifies to HOLD FIRMLY TO THE WORD OF LIFE!

Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV)

⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Experiencing anxiety of any kind is not enjoyable.  Though Paul and Jesus speak of this peace that surpasses understanding.  Life can be a very uncomfortable experience, but God’s words and promises of experiencing His peace, is the most comforting experience you’ll ever know or have.  Peace that surpasses all understanding means, you can still have peace during the times that seem unfortunate.   Through the world’s eyes, when bad times are bad, nothing can ever be good.  And when good times are good, do whatever you want that makes you happy.  Through God’s Truth, you WILL be comforted if you turn away from your sins, trust and obey His commands, which will then bring peace into your life.  To claim you believe in Christ but yet don’t live it out, don’t expect anything to change.

So, to have our hearts and minds guarded through Jesus, we must take everything into prayer, be thankful and give these worries of the world up to Him making your request known.

Matthew 6:25-27  (NIV)

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]?

It’s hard to live by this for those living in hard times, especially when you have the desire to do what it takes to change your outcome, though there’s times, and maybe more than you care to experience, where it just seems there’s no way out of the rut you’re in.  In between a rock and a hard place, it’s character building, that’s often when we have the opportunity to trust God all the more.  It’s easier said than done, especially when your on the side of being uncomfortable.  I know both sides of having a security blanket, and at this time I’m not sure what I have left.  It feels like, if I take one more step back in life, I could lose everything.  In hindsight, I’ve found these places the most maturing experiences I have ever had.  Can you relate?  Maybe these experiences are so He can bless us with something else?  God uses things in our life for our good.  Though a lot of these I have worried, argued and complained about.  Or bashed those that I felt necessary to do so as if things were all their fault.  In the end where does it get me?  No where.

The very things that Jesus and Paul warned us about are often easily put to the side, and the exact opposite is accomplished.  But for someone who wants to live in the blessings of God, despite the hard times.  Let me make this simple point real quick, there is a thought out there that becoming a Christian life is suppose to be… easier.  Well, If you meditate on scripture like Jesus commands us to (John 15:7), and live out in obedience, you’ll gain a deeper meaning of the peace that surpasses all understanding.

2 Timothy 2:15-18  (NLT)

¹⁵ Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. ¹⁶ Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior. ¹⁷ This kind of talk spreads like cancer,^[a] as in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus. ¹⁸ They have left the path of truth, claiming that the resurrection of the dead has already occurred; in this way, they have turned some people away from the faith.

Lets save others from listening to ourselves gripe about things we either cannot change or are unwilling to change, and understand, that living the way Jesus commands us to live, in itself has more power to change the world simply because His love will show through us and inspiring others.  If we believe that God is the true Almighty, the Great I Am, the most powerful being ever, and can change the world if we simply follow His instructions, then wouldn’t you agree that instead of living by the ABC’s of ignorance and living out God’s love needs to show more than our thoughts and attitude towards others?  There’s no good excuse.  Abide in Christ and He will abide in you, and when you have Him manifesting in your heart, soul and mind, you bestow the most effective weapon in the entire universe, His Love.

1 John 4:8 (NLT)

⁸ But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love