____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ October 8, 1995 ____________________________________________________ Disposition Diseases by Gary L. Coles Are you always a "Grump?" Are you one of those people no one can get along with? Do you believe you have been cursed with the capacity always to be right--while everyone else is always wrong? If you find yourself answering "yes" to any of these questions, you have a serious spiritual problem. Many Christians believe that the acts of immorality are the only thing that can keep them out of heaven. What they don't realize is that chronic disposition ailments can also prevent them from entering heaven. The Bible is full of passages that instruct us to be watchful of our dispositions. To ignore these passages will result in the loss of one's soul. Besides this, one will find himself being a very lonely person. Just think about it. Do you enjoy being around someone who is always complaining about how life is a raw deal? What about being around people who are nothing more than a volcano just ready to erupt? We usually try to stay as far as we can away from these people. However, what if one of these people is one's spouse or a fellow Christian of a congregation we attend? Then we have no alternative but to try to live with the person. Tragically these types of problems are often the catalysts for divorce and congregation splits. All of this could be avoided if people who claim to be Christians would begin to act like it! Briefly, we want to give some consideration as to how God expects us to behave as Christians. I realize that it is extremely difficult to change life-long attitudes. Nevertheless, if we want to be with God for all eternity, we must make changes to conform with his expectations. With God's help and assistance we can accomplish this difficult challenge. Ingratitude You're crossing a street when suddenly a huge truck comes right at you. You're petrified. You know this is it. All at once a huge man grabs you and pushed you out of the way just as the huge truck speeds by. You get up, look at the man who is lying on the ground breathing hard from exhaustion, dust yourself off and just go on your way. That's ingratitude! In 2 Timothy 3:2-5 Paul gives a list of some sins men will be guilty of in the last days. Included in that list is the sin of being ungrateful. Some people go through life never appreciating what they have. They are always dissatisfied with everything and everybody. Tragically, too many Christians also display attitudes of ingratitude. In what way? Every time they blatantly ignore their responsibilities as a Christian they are saying to Jesus, "I could care less that you died on the cross for my sins." The next time you feel too tired to attend a worship service assembly, think of Jesus. The next time you complain about having to go to a special Bible study, think of Jesus. The next time you are ready to verbally blast someone because of some insignificant matter, think of Jesus. Selfishness A husband and father spends every available dollar on his fishing boat. Every chance he gets he goes on a fishing trip with his buddies. During the summer months that is practically every weekend and several week nights each week. Once his wife asks him if he could take the family to a circus that was coming to town next weekend. The husband begins to rant and rave about how he can't afford it. Besides, he has a fishing trip next weekend. That's selfishness! I am convinced that many marriages fail because of selfishness. Husbands and wives are too busy trying to figure how they can get something out of the relationship instead of what they can put into the marriage. In Philippians 2:4 Paul says, "do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others." In many cases, the selfishness of its members undermines a local congregation's effectiveness. For example: A man desperately wants to be an elder in the congregation he is a member of. Unfortunately, he is clearly unqualified. Everyone can see this except himself, his family, and a few close friends. Ultimately, the congregation divides after months of bickering and fighting over this matter. This entire incident reflects the unsuitability of this man to be an elder. A man who is truly qualified would never allow the local congregation to be divided over his personal ambitions. Stubbornness A mother repeatedly told her little boy to sit down. The boy continued to stand, disobeying his mother. Finally, the mother went to him, and plopped him down in a chair. Fuming the boy said, "I may be sitting down on the outside, but I am standing on the inside!" That's stubbornness. There are many people who can never admit they're wrong. They are like the man who said, "I'll admit I'm wrong if you'll admit I'm right." In Deuteronomy 21:18-19 we can read that under the Old Law a father could have his son stoned to death if he stubbornly refused to obey. This gives us an idea of how God views stubbornness. We should point out, however, that there are also some positive aspects of being stubborn. Especially if a person stubbornly refuses to give up on some worthwhile project. All of us need to be stubborn when it comes to obeying the will of the Lord. Stubbornness becomes a sin when it prevents us from acknowledging our mistakes and causes us to rebel against those in authority over us. Discontent There was once an elderly woman who complained about everything. She was always in a state of discontent. The preacher of the congregation she attended would occasionally stop by and visit her. During each visit the poor preacher was subjected to a long speech about how terrible life was. During one visit the preacher noticed how well the woman's apple orchard was doing. The trees were full of beautiful red apples. Finally the preacher thought he had found something about which the old woman could not complain. However, he was flabbergasted by her response to his compliment of her bountiful crop of apples. She said, "I won't have any rotten ones for the pigs." That's discontent! There is nothing wrong with being ambitious and always aspiring to better oneself. However, a person must temper these feelings with contentment. There are times when we need to say enough is enough and be satisfied with what we have. If we are unable to do this, we will never be truly happy. Look at what Paul says in Philippians 4:11-13: "Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Does that describe you? Or, are you one of those constant whiners who is never happy. Always complaining about every little thing that doesn't go your way. Christians don't do that! Envy George dropped out of high school when he was 17 to begin work at the local factory. His parents had urged him to remain in high school so he could get his diploma. However, at the time, George thought school was just a lot of foolishness. Later he married a local young woman and eventually they had three kids. For twenty years George had worked long hard hours at the plant and he had very little to show for it. He never went back to school to get his GED. In fact, he had done very little to improve himself. Consequently, he turned into a bitter, miserable human being. In contrast, his brother, Jim, had remained in school and even continued into college and received a degree in business management. He was now the plant manager at the very plant George worked. Jim and his wife owned a beautiful home and had a lovely family. Every time George saw his brother at the plant he was filled with hateful feelings. In essence, he hated Jim. George didn't think it was fair that his younger brother had done so much better in life than he did. Jim would always try to stop by at George's station and speak with him. George would always look the other way and refuse to speak to his brother. That's envy! In Galatians 5:21 Paul includes envy as one of the works of the flesh that can keep a person out of heaven. Envy is an emotion that can destroy a person's spiritual well being. When you are tempted to feel sorry for yourself and develop hard feelings toward others who are more fortunate than you are, try to remember what happened to Cain. He allowed these negative feelings for his brother to get out of control which resulted in him becoming the first murderer in this world. How would you like to forever be remembered as a murderer? Destructive emotions can destroy our lives if we allow them to. Always try to maintain an attitude that is in harmony with God's will. -- Via Guardian of Truth, September 21, 1995 ___________________________________________ "and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously" (1 Peter 2:23). ___________________________________________ I (Tom Edwards) will be preaching a GOSPEL MEETING at the Harding Avenue church of Christ November 5-10 7:30 P.M. (during the weeknights) We hope to see you there. ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________