Category: Contempt

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Beauty Choices Contempt Journey Motives Rejection

Behind the Times

I’m a bit behind the times I know. I could use the excuse of living overseas but with the advent of the internet, that excuse really can’t get me too far. At the touch of a key on my wireless keyboard, I have the world and endless search engines at my fingertips (literally). I can study just about any subject in any field, read news from the farthest corner of the earth (not to mention space news from NASA and beyond) and almost correctly diagnose any ailment (much to the chagrin of physicians worldwide). No, I have no excuse to remain disconnected from the rest of the world, except for the times that the power goes out and then I digress, I have an excuse, albeit a temporary one.

Yet, I somehow missed one of the past “things” that made the rounds online and in books called the “Enneagram.” The Enneagram is simply another method to discover different personalities. On the Enneagram, I came to discover that I am a 2w1 personality. This makes me someone who feels deeply and can read emotions and situations with surprising clarity. Twos (as we are known) are helpers and at their core, they want to be recognized for helping, they actively seek love and approval of others by what they do.

The spiritual journey a Two has to take is one of giving beyond investment expecting a return to giving simply without expectation of anything in return; that’s what we call true love.

This is perhaps why I relate with Leah of the Bible. Not only do we (almost) share a name, but we seem to share some of the same characteristics making me wonder if Leah of the book of Genesis was a Two on the Enneagram.

Leah was married, underhandedly by her father, to Jacob. Jacob expected his love, Rachel, to be the one under the wedding veil but was disappointed when his father-in-law gave him Leah instead. As the story goes, Jacob did manage to marry Rachel, but was bound first to Leah, who knew she was unloved.

As time went by and Leah began to bear children, she named them accordingly:

1. Gen. 29:32 – Reuben was born and Leah said, “Because the Lord has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.”

2. Gen. 29:33 – Simeon was born and Leah said, “Because the Lord heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.”

3. Gen. 29:34 – Levi was born and Leah said, “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.”

Each time, Leah’s disappointment in being “unloved” was further cemented into her conscience. Jacob must have made his utter contempt towards her clear in his treatment of her (this is another subject for another day) and Leah, due to the time and culture, was bound to continue serving. She hoped her actions would sway the love of her husband towards her, but it was to no avail.

The fourth time Leah, again I’m quite sure she was my fellow Two, learned a lesson vital to the spiritual growth of a Two, she learned to love and trust without expecting love from anyone – except the Lord.

Gen. 29:35 “‘This time I will praise the Lord.’ Therefore she called his name Judah.”

What helped Leah cope through the rest of her life feeling unloved and rejected by her husband? How did Leah manage to juggle the responsibilities of her household when everyone knew no matter what she did, Rachel would be her husband’s real love?

She learned there was only One Whose love was unfailing and whatever she did for Him wouldn’t go unrecognized. She simply learned to praise the Lord.

There are a few times in scripture we read of Leah stumbling again into her past patterns of seeking approval (much like we all do even though we know better). But those times were few; I imagine each time she stumbled the pain she felt reminded her to return to the One Whose love never fails, never has strings attached to it.

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For more on The Enneagram, I recommend:

https://www.amazon.com/Road-Back-You-Enneagram-Self-Discovery/dp/0830846190

Categories
Church planting Contempt Fame God's call Honor Kingdom Perspective

The Honor of Dishonor

The Honor of Dishonor
— Read on shoutout.wix.com/so/4MFkfgRC

Categories
Contempt Courage Despair Destiny Dreams Faithfulness Forgiveness

From The Pit To The Palace

Apologies for the inactive link in the last post! The link is now working!

Today I’m connecting with our podcast, Africa & Beyond, so you can enjoy this amazing message that Jamie has been sharing with our church in Blantyre, Malawi.

It may seem life has settled into a pit or a prison – but be encouraged, there’s a palace in the future!

You can hear the message by clicking the link below.

https://leakpeters.podbean.com/e/from-the-pit-to-the-palace-1517497315/

Categories
Contempt Fasting Harvest Kingdom Missions

A Lifeline

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“I’ll get even!”

As children, especially those of us who grew up with siblings, getting even was to be expected. Whenever one of my siblings got the best of me, they knew that eventually I would find them and return the favor. I am not sure which one of us was the best at “getting back” at the other, or who was best at the “getting,” as we all knew the other was considered fair game, getting even was to be expected.

“You started it so you deserved it.”

Later on in life I came to understand that I deserved judgment, but God offered me grace which I eagerly accepted and I am so thankful that I did! The truth of the matter is that we all deserve judgment apart from the grace and mercy of God. We who have come to know Jesus live under one spiritual roof in God’s Kingdom and there’s none among us who has been able to earn what we have been given. Yet, I find it strange that for all we have: forgiveness, mercy, grace, love, and more, we carefully measure out our approval to those who have yet to enter the Kingdom. For some reason it seems we feel the less-than-palatable characters of this world “deserve” less than we do because they are so ungodly and when they meet an untimely demise, or tragedy comes to their part of the world, there’s a sense of “they deserved it” that floats around in our circles. How this must hurt not only the heart of our Father, but also hurt those reaching out in those unseemly places.

Ezekiel 33:10-16 TLB vs. 11 “As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; I desire that the wicked turn from his evil ways and live…”

Souls are priceless, even those we find to be uncomely, they matter to the Lord and they should matter to us. The call to pray for and go to the nations (see Matt. 9:38 and Luke 15) remains unchanged in spite of this world’s present situation. There are no clauses in those scriptures that excludes us in this present age of reaching out to people, both near and far, whose lives are foreign to us. Once upon a time, and not very long ago either, such were some of us (see 1 Cor. 6:10,11) and we needed someone to extend us a lifeline.

It’s their turn now, they don’t deserve it, but neither did we.

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Categories
Contempt Faith Familiarity Fasting Judgment

Day 16 – Best Friends

Who is your best friend? I would say my husband Jamie is my best friend. We’ve been married 33 years this coming July. We’ve been together so long that I wonder if he can read my mind sometimes, and vice-versa. We finish one another’s sentences and generally have the same opinion about life in general; there are a few exceptions that I won’t list that aren’t really important except when I bring them up (haha).

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Best friends since 1984.

My husband knows he has an open door into my life – he is more familiar with me than with anyone else. Ours is the kind of relationship that I wanted in marriage and I’m so thankful God fulfilled that need I had. With such friendship and familiarity between us, there is something that we both need to guard our hearts from; and that is contempt (disdain, disapproval, or scorn). It’s easy, when you know someone as well as we know one another, to view their opinions, ideas, and ways of doing things with contempt since you know not only their good points but are aware of their frailties as well.

Familiarity can be a positive mark in a relationship. I’m not fearful to talk to my husband about anything; I know that he has my best interests at heart. I’m also so familiar with him that I know when I can talk with him. For example, when he is studying on Friday, preparing his preaching for the weekend, I know that it’s not a good time to have a deep discussion about anything. If my attitude towards him shifted to the negative and I began to despise him for his way of doing things, then, that familiarity I have with him has brought a harvest of contempt. As my husband, as my fellow believer, I need to honor the person God has made him to be and allow room for him to be himself just as he honors me as his wife and fellow believer.

In the same way we need to guard ourselves in our relationships with our spouses and friends, as Christians, we have to be very careful not to allow our relationship with the Lord to become contemptuous because we have become so accustomed to His love and grace.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 MSG “Let me go over with you again exactly what goes on in the Lord’s Supper and why it is so centrally important. I received my instructions from the Master himself and passed them on to you. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, broken for you. Do this to remember me.’ After supper, he did the same thing with the cup: ‘This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you. Each time you drink this cup, remember me.’ What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt.”

If we don’t watch ourselves in our relationship with the Lord, we could easily fall into the same trap as the Corinthians did with the Lord’s Supper (Communion). Things had taken a drastic downward turn in the Corinthian church; they had turned the Lord’s Supper, and church life in general, into a competition. Criticism and divisiveness filled the air and the Apostle Paul felt it necessary to step in and bring correction.

Familiarity – Honor = Contempt

Jesus faced the same issue as He attempted to minister in His home town:

Mark 6:3 NLT “Then they scoffed, ‘He’s just a carpenter…’ They were deeply offended and refused to believe in Him.”

The people in Jesus’ hometown despised His ministry because they were familiar with Him. They knew his mother and father, they knew He hadn’t studied the law or attended any prestigious center for training on religious affairs. The miracles they had heard of Him performing weren’t enough to change their minds about Him – they were deeply offended.

Why is it when God uses someone we know, a friend or family member, we immediately view him or her with skepticism? Simply because we know where someone comes from doesn’t preclude them from God using them. Perhaps we wonder, secretly or even unconsciously, why is God using them instead of us for our character and giftings are so much better than theirs. When we allow contempt to rule in our hearts to the point that we judge others and the work God is trying to do through them, we stand on shaky ground.

Mark 6:6 NLT “And He was amazed at their unbelief.”

When contempt takes hold and grows, it grows into offense and unbelief. Once those attitudes take hold in our lives, our spiritual growth comes to a standstill:

Hebrews 11:6 NKJ “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Unbelief stands in opposition to faith and stalls us spiritually. Those things we have been fervently praying for will be kept from us as long as we have unbelief reigning in our hearts.

I never want to amaze God with my unbelief because I couldn’t receive from someone I was familiar with or because I became so familiar with God that I didn’t hold my relationship with Him in reverence. What a catastrophe, yes catastrophe, that would be; that I would keep God’s blessings from coming into my life because I had set myself up as judge and jury over others.

Today, I challenge you to hold your relationship with God and others with reverence. Yes, He can use whomever He wants to use, whenever He wants to use them, and however He wants to use them. I’ve found most of the candidates God calls are what we would consider “disqualified” because of lack of experience or their human frailties. Those are precisely the ones God uses for when He uses such incompetent people (like me), He will get all the glory!

I’m amazed today that God loves me so much and would send His Son for me, that He has given me wonderful people to serve with, and that He would use me to do something for His Kingdom.