Christian Pitfalls: Family (& Friend) Persuasion

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV)

As God says (and many learn the hard way), ‘There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother’ (Proverbs 18:24).

As God (through Jesus & Paul) reminds us– we’re now a ‘Family of believers’ (Galatians 6:10).

  • Therein, Christian friends become family!

  • Therein, family can influence us, for BETTER or WORSE, with a pumped-up power of persuasion. 

Consequently…

  • What they love, hate, fear, desire or denounce,

  • Their propositions and prejudices…

  • Can pull us toward our King– or away!

Actors, models, and talent for Christ:

The pitfall of family persuasion is both revealed and covered by Jesus.

Consider His unusual Order:

'If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple' (Luke 14:26).**

That's a hard and direct covering. But… family persuasion IS a pitfall: a familiar and confusing pitfall. 

  • It’s comfortably uncomfortable.

  • It’s thick with blood, but the blood isn’t Christ’s.

  • It reeks of guilt, but the guilt isn’t good.

One of the toughest lessons we must learn? We can’t love our family more than God--nor can we allow them to PERSUADE us to walk any other path than our King’s.

Also know:

If Satan can’t persuade us directly, he'll try to persuade us indirectly--through susceptible family members. Because it's far easier to say 'No' to the clearly-horned devils that we hate… than to familiar-faced kin that we love.

Nevertheless, our first Love must be Him. Family may be our close #2, but never lift them higher than Jesus!

Christian Pitfalls: Family (& Friend) Persuasion (Part 32)

* Lessons Learned from Jehoshaphat: http://pleonast.com/users/thejoyoftom/entries/596650-lessons-learned-from-jehoshaphat-2-chronicles-17-21

** Article: 'What does it mean to 'hate our father and mother' ' (Luke 14:26)? http://www.gotquestions.org/hate-father-mother.html

NOTE: God is my Ghostwriter. If what I write is good, it’s from God. You may see notes to 'Actors, Models & Talent for Christ.' If you think you're not in show business, think again. Shakespeare said, 'All the world's a stage and all its men and women merely players.’ Mostly true. But you're not merely players. You are messengers and ambassadors for the King of kings.

Carey Arban