Lee McDowell Christian
Ministries LMCM
Nacogdoches,
Texas Gal. 2:20 KJV
Michael’s book is
available through:
Abiding Life
Ministries International
Littleton, Colorado
(303) 972-0859 almi@abidinglife.com
With
all the attention on “bullies” nowadays, who would have ever guessed there were
so many different types of bullies…until Michael points out several in this
day’s writing. I’ve always thought of a
“bully” as one of two people: (1) a guy named, (better not name him), from
junior high days. He was a physical
bully…until Coach (better not name him) took a paddle to him in gym class one
day, then he was never a bully again, and (2) a guy I knew in college, named
Bully, who is far from anything associated with the typical “bully” idea. Oh well, I think I will enjoy thinking about
“bullies” from the perspective Michael gives…enjoy it yourself!
Day 32
Bullies
And
they rose up and cast Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill
on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. --Luke 4:29
I suppose that at one time or another all of
us have had to deal with a bully. What makes people bullies is their ability to set themselves above us
and intimidate. Physical bullies use brute strength to create the
fear of being hurt and in that way control us. Intellectual bullies
point out our stupidity and inferiority. Materialistic bullies
make successful acquisition of possessions the focus. Religious bullies
draw attention to their righteousness, making it quite clear they are grateful
for not being miserable sinners and failures like the rest of us. Verbal
bullies delight in their ability to speak quickly and leave us
speechless in our inadequacy. The political bully understands all
the intricacies of the whole world and wonders at the absurdity of our
opinions. Finally, outward-appearance bullies exalt themselves
because of beauty or dress, insinuating that we are ugly and must therefore
take our lower place in the caste system.
When
discussing a bully, we must understand two points. First, any power that he has
over us we have yielded to him in the sense that we, like him, falsely believe
that the greatness of a person rests in strength, beauty, intellect, material
possessions, self-righteousness, or a quick mind. The proof is in
statements like this: “I feel like a wimp because I got scared and did not
stand up to the bully.” Who said we were wimps for not standing up to someone
walking in the flesh? I know who says so! The bully and those of us being
intimidated, and I believe both are wrong. We must not let the bullies define what weakness is. If
we do, we will find ourselves with false definitions. The spiritual man is to set
the standard; he is judged by no one but judges all things. I Corinthians 2:15,
“But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by
no man.” The spiritual man refuses to measure up to the standard set by the
carnal or to play the bullies’ games that set themselves above to lord it over
others. Rather,
the spiritual man places himself below all others, creating a contrast between
him and all bullies that puts incredible judgment on them. The spiritual
operate from a definition of man that necessitates loving and serving, not
standing up to a bully. To the intellectual we can say, “We are not wise
in our own eyes.” To the materialistic bully, we say, “We live as the sparrow
and lilies.” To the verbal bully, “We bless,” and to the religious bully, we
can assert, “We trust not in our works, but in Christ’s.” By deferring to the
bully, rather than scraping and clamoring to reach his self-proclaimed level,
we conquer and overcome. We
must not be intimidated by a bully, for in so doing we fall into his false
concepts of life.
“Any power (a bully) has over us we have yielded to him in the sense
that we, like him, falsely believe that the greatness of a person rests
in…” WOW! Man is deceived, including the bully and the
bullied. How crazy is that?!? We live in a day when counterfeit “truths”
and humanistic philosophies run rampant.
When every man is doing what is right in his own eyes.
But once again, Michael gives us God’s answer: this time to the
bullies…spiritual people are the ones who are to be judging, and all things/people
are to be judged by what is spiritual (Christianity), not carnal or
counterfeit. We Christians have got to
stop letting the world set the standards.
God set them. Let’s enjoy them.
Do what? Enjoy them. How do we do that? The life of Christ flowing through us. Simple, isn’t it! Well, amen.
Yellow – VIP, Very
Important Point Red – GP,
Greatest Promises
Turquoise – UR,
Unfathomable Riches Pink – PV,
Priceless Victory
Lee McDowell Christian
Ministries
P. O. Box 633244 Nacogdoches, Tx 75963 936-559-5696
