Are You Taking the Bait?

This forum has been an incredible blessing to me and I have gleaned so much from the wisdom and maturity of many who contribute here. But......in the short time I have been here it seems that people are continuously being offended. They don't call it that but when you write half a page defending your stance indeed you are. One of the meanings for offence in the Greek is a trap. Satan will continually set this trap before you but it is your "choice" whether or not you reach in and take the bait. It really does not matter whether or not the offence is "real" or "imagined." It is still a choice. These offences are no fun to carry around, so lay them down at the Lord's feet or better yet stop picking them up.Much Love,Hope

Thank you Hope,Love is not offended, it does not take into account a wrong suffered, AND it never fails.It is something that comes as fruit from the Savior Who bought us with His blood and lives inside of us.Bless you

Hi HopeinChrist,In fairness and balance I hope to shed some light on what I feel often happens. I concur that there are times when the enemy would work to bring division, etc. However, I also believe that most of what happens is a healthy discussion meant to bring understanding between us. I believe this to be quite biblical and healthy. Consider this one occasion between the apostles;And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men [and] brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. (Acts 15:7) Here disputing is Suzetesis and it is used 3 times in the New Testament (Acts 15:2, 15:7, 28:29). This word means mutual disputation or discussion. I believe this is what we generally have in the forums. I know personally I am just as interested in hearing a well presented biblical position than delivering my own. Discussions we have had in the forums have shed much light on topics that I have questioned and held in high regard. This is why sometimes the topic seems to come off as heated. It is really just charged with passion and desire for truth. Certainly we are none perfect in this regard and I have personally apologized at times when I crossed the line. I have made many friends here and some of the closest of friendships were forged in the fires of high temperature discussions. Love and appreciation for one another that is very deep. Maturity will keep us from taking offense in these foryms. For me I was inexperienced at public forum type discussion early on, but in time I learned that it is the nature of this media. I can say though with great certainty that I have sat in in some sharp debates where folks loved truth and came away with greater understanding and love. Other times folk were offended and walked out never to return. I hope here we can have forbearance to bear with one another in our folly (so to speak). God Bless,-Robert

I think it was Ron who mentioned that he never defends himself, just his ideas. This sensible policy works in inverse too. When communicating invisibly with one another, we have to resist the temptation to percieve motives, even crediting each other with good intentions. I appreciate threads like this as reminders, because I'm still learning to be mindful of my conduct. Our ultimate hope here is to bring light to areas of darkness. How interesting that unity is not so reliant on consensus as it is on humility and esteem. Let's focus on each others ideas, but not on each other. It's the difference between lighting a candle, and lighting a firecracker.MC

Some friends of mine recently joined and the nickname they chose is quite appropriate to this thread. It's Makrothumia and it's translated forbearance and longsuffering. I like the expanded translation and this is what applies here, especially in a forum: The ability to be wronged without retaliating.

Here disputing is Suzetesis and it is used 3 times in the New Testament (Acts 15:2, 15:7, 28:29). This word means mutual disputation or discussion. I believe this is what we generally have in the forums. I agree and this really is the whole intent of forums to me. I also concur that most discussions here are very healthy. But you can usually tell the difference when someone has gone from defending their idea to defending themselves as Compton mentioned. This is what I was referring to. I have seen threads where one party continues to defend, defend, defend (themselves) and the other side sticks to the issue. It is just amazing to me when I see threads unfold in this manner. Part of the intrigue is that it is often by someone who seems to have alot of Word under their belt and are mature in other ways yet stumble here. In other words, those you would think should know better. I posted this with the intent that it would be edifying to those who fall into this. I hope it comes across that way.Hope

That's good :-)