Tuesday, December 6, 2011

BE REASONABLE!

by Cathy Weymouth

Tuesday 12/6/11 Philippians 1-4  BE REASONABLE!

S=Scripture  O=Observation  A=Application  P=Prayer

S - Phil 4:6 JB Phillips, Have a reputation for being reasonable. MSG, Make it as clear as you can to all you meet, that you are on their side, working with them and not against them.  KJV, Let your moderation be known unto all men.

O - Paul is exhorting the believers in Philippi to stand fast in the Lord, to rejoice, to not worry and to be reasonable.  This word REASONABLE really stood out to me today; the English word means to be sane, logical, moderate, sensible, just.  The Greek word for reasonable (moderation) is epieikes meaning equitable, fair and gentle.

A - What prevents us from being reasonable?  I can think of a few things:  stress and pressures of life, expectations that are not meshed with reality, past wounding left unhealed, wanting our own way without consideration for another's desires or needs. One factor to consider is TIME... it takes time to heal, to let go of expectations, to embrace and accept reality.  

P - Father, help us work through those things that cause us to be unreasonable.  May we extend grace to ourselves and others as we give the gift of time to arrive in a reasonable place.  We want others to know that we are working with them, not against them.  May our gentleness eventually come through as we work out the frustrations in our lives. Amen.

No comments:

Post a Comment