You become like the people you
spend the most time with, so choose your friends carefully. If you spend time
with angry, resentful people, you risk becoming an angry, resentful person
yourself. That’s because attitudes are contagious.
Here’s a wonderful story that
illustrates the point.
A man purchased a newspaper at a
newsstand every day. He always greeted the vendor very courteously, but in
return received very gruff and discourteous service; the vendor would rudely
shove the newspaper in his face.
The man, however, would politely
smile and wish him a nice day. This went on for several days until a friend
asked, ‘Does he always treat you this rudely?’ The man replied, ‘Unfortunately,
he does.’
The questioner asked, ‘Are you
always polite and friendly to him?’ The man replied, ‘Yes, I am.’ The
questioner continued, ‘Why are you so nice to him when he’s so rude to you?’
The man replied, ‘Because I don’t want him to decide how I’m going to act.’
The Bible says: “If you suffer
for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. For God called
you to do good, even if it means suffering just as Christ suffered for you. He
is your example and you must follow in His steps.
He never sinned, nor ever
deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when He was insulted, not threaten
revenge when He suffered. He left His case in the hands of God, who always
judges fairly’ (1 Peter 2:20-23).
“Without faith”, says Hebrews
11:6, “it is impossible to please God”. It’s good to have faith but having only
faith is not enough; it must be accompanied correspondingly by works of
righteousness in the newness of life born of God in Christ Jesus (James
2:14-17).
As a born-again believer, there are
several ways to please God but when you live a life that daily glorifies and
reflects the character of God in accordance with His commandments and will; this
is how to truly please God.
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