Welcome to my all new website for 2023!
Are you on the right path? Are others? How do you know? How do you handle others who are not, or who are at a crossroads?
The Devil hates, steals, deceives, accuses – God does not. The Devil destroys human beings, God restores them. God speaks truth, unity, love – The Devil does not. God is selfless, the Devil is selfish.
If you experience the grace of God, within, you know without doubt there is a love like no other accessible to all. (See footnotes)
When you know God, you shall also know then, that there is another force at work in this world. This evil force, none of us are immune to. It is one of hedonism, selfishness, greed, hatred, anger, deceit etc. It exists within us all. It has a love for other things, those of the world. It wants to destroy us all – so whilst you may think you win by getting ‘what you want’ – sooner or later – the objective truth of this reality will hit you. I know from my experience as a drug user, bodybuilder, cheater, alcoholic, worshipper of money and so on that those paths lead to nowhere but misery.
To really allow God and yourself to battle that evil force, you first have to see it within. You have to really know objective right from wrong – rather than doing what is “right for you.” And for a definition of what is right… see the top of this post. Then comes the sincere and firm resolve that you will fight the battle, and that you will dedicate yourself to God and his ways. It is a tough long road, but it is far better, far more fulfilling, far more joyful than dancing with the Devil and his temporal and destructive pleasures.
When you encounter this evil outside of you in others, it’s always important to separate that evil force from three things –
The Christian/Godly thing to do, for example if you hear of someone who is sleeping rough that attends your Church is to give them a roof. To take someone under your wing. Perhaps you see parts of your old self in them and your past struggles.
They may appear completely Godly, charming, pleasant at first. You make a decision to do the loving thing and let them stay with you.
Yet when you make a decision, you may put yourself, and others at risk, because you may be inviting someone into your life, who struggles greatly with the Devil as well. You may be putting yourself, your family, friends, them and your property at risk.
Despite obvious good qualities, as you get to know them, the Devil’s fruits may come to bear – they may speak a lot about people close to them they have deceived, they may be involved in illicit activities, they may have a drug problem, they may show a disregard for others, for property, for businesses, even little clues that may seem innocuous, like snatching things from others, or not saying thank you for generosity scream out to you. Are you judging them when you see these things? No of course not.
You are being discerning.
This is where point 3) comes in. You don’t confuse the person with their actions, past etc. You know, that the human being, the vessel, is the same as all. They can be filled with God like us all, and they can struggle with the Devil too. No one is above that struggle!
The Devil wants you to hate such a person, turn your back on them, lower them to your judgements. God however wants you to speak truth to them, love them, forgive them, support them and show them a better way. Only this can heal their trauma because of course, always when you see discord on the outside of someone – it comes from some discord inside. And only showing God’s love, can really heal such discord.
However, you have to separate this loving attitude and intention to do God’s work, from your decision making. It might well be best to help, but to do so from afar. You may not need to have them live with you, befriend them, be close to them. You can be just as there for them, in a different capacity. Perhaps just in chance meetings or at Church.
As they stay with you, they may begin to try and deceive you. Should you be surprised? They have deceived others, far closer to them, why would they think twice? To change takes experience, and takes time, and it takes the grace of God.
For example, perhaps they need money for shoes, they create a simple story so you aren’t with them to visit the shop. They artificially inflate the price of the shoes they bought, lying to you about their true value, and spend the rest on drugs. Beyond that, they may too promise to pay you back, it would seem, with no intention of doing so whatsoever.
When you find this out, what can you do? You have to act. To keep someone in your house that will deceive you, is dangerous. When the Devil is in control, God is not. At the same time, it’s back to 3). Be there for them, forgive them, pray for those that wrong you. Once you abuse the trust and love given to you in this life, is it more loving to carry on regardless or show them there are consequence? Don’t be afraid to show people those consequences exist – for their own growth and good. When you show yourself to be deceitful for example – that you lose a footing – you lose trust – you lose special treatment. We all must work for good relationships, with God and each other – they don’t come along for free. Experience is the best teacher, and people only damage those close to them that care for them, because they are so damaged and struggle themselves.
I know this because I am the same and have gone through the same.
And if there are no consequences of your actions, you simply don’t learn from your experience.
Trust your gut feeling, you can “feel” where another human being really is in their spiritual journey. Right away! Make wise decisions, protect yourself from the evil energy that exists in all, whilst doing all you can to pour love people’s way, no matter in what capacity, as landlord, friend, samaritan, or just someone who cares.
Be loving, but we wise, feel the best way to handle things, don’t be impulsive, you don’t always need to act on the first action that comes to mind, sometimes, a slower, more gentle approach is required. And when and if you get it wrong, don’t beat yourself up, you’re only human after all – God often has plans to show you something from a situation that goes way beyond what meets the eye.
Thanks for reading & God Bless
Barclay
Footnotes –
My way has been through Jesus Christ, those of you who read the website will know that I favour the scientific evidence over Biblical interpretation – that other paths can provide the exact same salvation through the effects on the human vessel of prayer, wisdom, other Holy Books, meditation and so on. We really are clay, our very being can be moulded by God, through processes like brain plasticity for example. (It is my assertion that whole human being is “plastic” and subject to moulding – and as such the Devil hijacks the process through drink, drugs, porn etc. to give temporal pleasure but I digress.)
I am sorry if my multi path assertion annoys you, offends you, or you feel it contravenes God’s word. I am sorry if you think that speaking of such unity is actually divisive, or deceptive. I have nothing but love to answer that, because God has shown me that is the only answer. He has shown me all words – all interpretations – as are they are – but they are non-dependent on his love. The scientific objective evidence (see Neurotheology or trawl my website) – and that is the keyword – “evidence” – is totally contrary to there being one exclusive path. The Bible does have factual inaccuracies – many – the omission of evolution for one. Whether you see them, accept them or not, does not effect your experience or relationship of God however – (again look at the reality everyone) and that is the great dilemma for us as human beings, because we can all, including me, be blinded by our own cleverness, interpretations and knowledge.
