Detail, Hieronymus Bosch
It seems to go in cycles.
Jealousy, Envy, Strife
Jealousy, envy, and strife are the seed ground of hatred, and are also hatred's perverse offspring. There is nothing more unworthy of a child of God than jealousy and envy; these vices are an insult to Divine Providence.
Alas, there are in all walks of life people who love strife. They thrive on discord and like nothing more than contentiousness and argument. Such people are the bane of community life. Their only contentment is discontent, and they are discontented wherever contentment holds sway. Incapable of keeping their misery to themselves, they seek out, from among those around them, the most vulnerable and impressionable types, and enroll them in their bitter causes. A lover of strife has no place in a cloister, and should such a man present himself, he must, as soon as his propensity is discovered, be sent away lest he inflict severe damage on the household of God. - Source
I read that manifesting the fruit of the Holy Spirit was evidence that one had put on the character of Christ. Galatians 5:22 - 23 identifies the Spirit's fruit as “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”. All of us who are trying to follow the Lord should measure the quality of our Christian witness against the degree to which these fruit are manifest in our lives. If we write or blog, it might be useful to ask "Can people see evidence of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in my writing?"
ReplyDeleteHi Frank - excellent suggestion. I invoke the Holy Spirit before going online.
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