What We Chat about in Today’s Episode:
~Answering the questions “Was Jesus Nice?” and “Are we as believers called to be nice?”
~The difference between being kind and being nice
~Jesus’ example of speaking hard truths in love, from a heart of kindness, but not always from a place of niceness
~Jesus’ interactions with the Pharisees
~The difference between peacemaking and peacekeeping, and what we are called to as believers; the biblical definition of peace versus the culture’s definition of peace
~Relational currency and getting to the place of being able to have hard conversations with people
~Calling out vs. calling up
~The importance of truth in love and the problem with missing either one of these important characteristics
~The difference between a biblical definition of kindness and a cultural one
~How speaking truth leads to peace
~Being willing to go to bat for the gospel
~Different personalities and how they are each uniquely equipped to build the kingdom in different ways
~Strong, aggressive terminology used throughout Scripture telling us to contend for the faith, give a defense, be strong in the face of spiritual warfare, and be equipped to stand firm
~Practical first steps for those who don’t know where to start when it comes to being truly loving and kind as opposed to merely nice
~The importance of not becoming Jesus jerks or Bible bullies
~And more!
Resources Mentioned
Offer for a free audiobook and 30 day trial membership from Audible: www.audibletrial.com/HomeandHearth
Relentless Pursuit
INSPIRING QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
“There is no commandment to ‘be nice’. Being loving and being nice are not always synonamous. Kind is Biblical, while nice is worldly. Kind is saying what needs to be said, nice is tiptoeing around the important issue at hand.”
“Sometimes speaking the truth in love isn’t very nice, because being ‘nice’ means not saying the hard, sometimes hurtful stuff that has to be said for other people’s well being.”
“Calling someone dead on the inside – as Jesus did with the Pharisees – is not nice! But it is kind, because it is coming from a place of being concerned with what is in the best interest of others.”
“We are in a culture of calling out other people. But that’s not the truth in love. That’s just the truth. We’re missing the other important part of love.”
“The truth without love is really harsh, and love without truth is enabling.”
“We need to be speaking so much life and love over other people that when the time does come to have a hard conversation with someone, they will know the heart behind it.”
“The difference between calling someone out and calling someone up is the heart motivation – are you trying to criticize them or restore them?”
“Niceness is very self-serving. It’s safe, it keeps you from stepping on anyone’s toes, so it keeps you from receiving any sort of backlash. Kindness, meanwhile, does step on toes sometimes. It’s a willingness to set aside your own comfort in order to seek what is in the best interests of other people.”
“If I have a brother or sister in Christ who is not living out of their identity in Him and who and what He has called them to be, then the cultural definition of peace would tell me to keep silent and not say anything. But a biblical definition of peace tells me something very different.”
“Loving people to Christ and sharing the gospel with them, though the gospel does sometimes offend, is a mission of peace – it is seeking to see them be at peace with God.”
“We are told throughout Scripture that we are to be equipped and ready to defend the faith and give a reason for our hope. We are told to contend for the faith, to take thoughts captive, that we are living in the midst of spiritual warfare. That is aggressive terminology.”
“We are charged to love God and love others, and sometimes loving God means defending your faith.”
“In our desire to be nice and not face backlash and because we are too often lacking in biblical literacy, we are failing to go to bat for the gospel.”
“We are more concerned with being agreeable than we are with being biblically accurate.”
“You are already equipped to study the Bible.”
WHERE YOU CAN FIND BLAKE ONLINE:
Instagram – @thegirlnamedblake @crappychristianco
Twitter – @craplitics
Podcast – The Crappy Christian Podcast
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