"But I say unto you, Love your enemies,
bless them that  curse you, do good to them that hate you,
and pray for  them which despitefully use you,
and persecute you;"  - Matthew 5:44

It's a struggle sometimes.

It's a struggle sometimes for many Christians to avoid  becoming what I call a "Spiritual Prosecuting Attorney."

Here's how it happens.

It begins with an offense.  Could be great, could be  small...but it makes you mad.  Real mad.  But, you're a  Christian, so you forgive. But, as it happens all too often,  you don't forget.  You keep it logged in the back of your  mind...

...kind of like collecting evidence.

Soon, the person that offended you does something  else that you find out of line.  It wasn't as bad as the  original offense, but it makes a great supporting bit of  evidence to show a pattern of behavior, you think...

...so, you submit it into your mind as Exhibit B of the  prosecution's case.

It isn't long before you've launched a full scale  investigation of the "defendant."  Suddenly everything they  say and do is under your constant scrutiny.  You're taking  mental notes and snapshots of the "crime scene" as fast  as you can.  Why?  Because you're building your case.  

Evidence is piling up faster than you can process it all.

You find yourself angry about where they parked their  car and you notice that they wore the same clothes earlier  in the week.  Their children aren't being raised "right" and  that stupid dog of their's barks too much.  

As you continue to build your case, you even start  manufacturing evidence.  You read too much into what  they say, twist their words and take things out of context.   Hey, any good attorney would do it, right?  You start  interpreting body language and the prosecution is about  ready to rest its case.

Christian, tell me it doesn't happen this way.  Please tell  me that I'm wrong.  Give me some kind of assurance that  this doesn't happen among God's people.  Of course, you  can't.  Because you and I both know it DOES happen.  In  fact, chances are, at one time or another, You and I have  BOTH done this very thing.

My friend, I want you to think about something this  morning.  Maybe you don't struggle with this problem.   That's great.  But, if you are on a fact finding mission, if  you are building a case against someone, I want you to consider this...

...everything you just read came straight out of the life of Jesus.  

You see, the religious leaders of the day did those  exact kinds of things in condemning our Lord to death on  the cross.  

And we shake our heads in disbelief at how shameful  their actions were...

...only to  walk out the door and do the same things to our next door neighbors, our co-workers, our church  members and any other person who doesn't do things the  way we want them to do them.

Is that the Gospel message?  Is that what Christ would  have us to do?  No, my friend.  My Bible doesn't say build  a case against those that do things I dislike.  My Bible  says...

..."But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them  that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for  them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"

Have a "Wonderful DAY in Christ,"
Jimmy D. Brown
\o/ Praise Jesus!