Oh Friends, it’s the weekend! Whoopee! Time for fun, frolic, fellowship and housework! Yes, housework too for the unlucky many who don’t have the time to do it during the busy workweek. You’d think that with all our expert intelligence and technology we could devise a better system of working and living than what’s currently in force, meaning the endless commuting back and forth, plus the long work weeks and short break periods. But I guess that’s all a pipe dream right now. Until the slave masters decide to relax their greedy agenda, we’ve just got to grin and bear it. In so doing, we have to feel and believe like Willie Shakespeare says: ‘The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we’re LOVED.’ And ain’t that the truth mih people! It’s the belief that we’re LOVED by somebody; friends, family, spouses, that keeps us going. If there was no LOVE in our lives then life wouldn’t be worth living. That’s why we tend to give up on life when we’ve lost LOVE. But Friends, I’m here to tell you that there’s always LOVE in a believer’s life: if not that of humans, then certainly that of the Most High God Jehovah. So believers should never have to give up on life because they always have the LOVE of God with them. That brings us to our Bit, and some more virtues that believers ought to possess. Yes mih people, a believer is expected to be a very virtuous person. (smile) The Bit talks of ‘Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any.’ Oh Friends, that sentence is one of the most important in a believer’s life, for having been called to develop the virtues we’ve discussed over the last few days, and seeing where very few, if any, have reached that magical plateau of spirituality, then it behoves us to bear with, have patience with each other, and also forgive one another. Why? Because all of us still have flaws, weaknesses and deficiencies, which means we’re going to make mistakes and do wrong, often not intentionally, but wrong nonetheless. But unfortunately, it’s common place for us to berate others for the same wrongs and mistakes that we commit. As Jesus warned, we shouldn’t judge in a harsh, vindictive manner, because it will come back to haunt us. ‘And why beholdest thou the mote (speck) that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam (plank) that is in thine own eye?’ (Mat.7:3) That my Friends is a sad behaviour believers are widely known for; coming down on others for simple things when we commit more serious offences. That my brethren, is pure and simple hypocrisy. Oh Friends, these virtues which believers ought to possess and practice is one of the biggest drawbacks to our bringing others to Christ. Why? Because we constantly talk about them but don’t practice them sufficiently. Unbelievers therefore get turned off and consider us just a bunch of pretentious, know it all hypocrites. And in far too many cases, they are right. And I’m saying this from experience. While growing up in Tobago, I lived amongst two sets of people, both professing to be devout Christians, with both groups always in church etc. But Friends, even at my tender age, around 12 or 13, I saw the remarkable difference between both groups. One group definitely did not live the Christian life they preached, being rude, unmannerly and not very neighbourly, while the other was more pleasant, generous and kind. You could see something of Jesus in them. And for some strange reason that comparative situation has stuck with me all through the years. If I wasn’t already a believer, that first rude, unmannerly group would never have gotten me to be one, simply because their everyday actions didn’t live up to their words. Friends, I cannot over emphasize the importance of doing what we say, of practising what we preach, in our efforts to bring others to Christ. Remember that trite but true saying that examples work better than precepts, than mere words. That insufficient effort of practising what we preach is the bane of Christianity my people. If Christianity is an action, a doing movement, and we’re not doing, not acting in accordance with its basic principles, then how can we draw others to Christ eh? Our blatant hypocrisy just makes it worse, turns them off. Ah Friends, oftimes we’re our worst enemies, simply because we don’t do as we say, yet expect others to do it. And this last part of the Bit is oh so important; it’s one of the foundation stones of our faith: ‘even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.’ And that’s the gospel truth! But do we do it? Not as often as we should. And in closing, let’s hear it straight from our Saviour’s lips; hopefully it will impress upon us, the urgency and importance of living our principles. ‘And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught (anything) against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is heaven forgive your trespasses.’ (Mark 11:25-26) Oh my people, what more can I say? Jesus said it all right there; if you don’t forgive, you won’t be forgiven by the Lord. It couldn’t be any simpler than that. Please, I implore us to go out and start putting those things we’ve talked about into serious action; kindness, mercy, compassion, caring, forbearance, long-suffering, LOVE and forgiveness. Those are the principles on which Christ’s church is based, and if we want to be His true followers, then we need to do the things He directs us to do. And don’t think we done yet nuh! (smile) It have some more virtuous stuff to come tomorrow, God willing. Till then, Much LOVE!…virtue is the engine…that runs the Christian’s life…
SCRIP-BITS 