Topic
| I've Got This Problem... |
| See the man's despair. See his puzzlement. He's got a problem, and he's not sure what to do about it. "Everybody thinks I am such a cheat. Can't they see I'm just ambitious? I just want to receive the things God intends me to have." Meanwhile, others around him are jealous. And they don't trust him. His biggest problem is with his brother. They are as different as night and day. One's ambitious. The other seems selfish. One is Dad's favorite. The other is Mom's. You can see all the ingredients for trouble... LOTS of trouble. "My brother really hates me. Sometimes I actually think he's capable of killing me. I know it sounds strange, but I really think he could. Now things are worse. Dad's no help. Mom's advice sounds ungodly. Trouble surely lies ahead. What do I do?" The guy's done some things wrong, but he's not been too far out of line. Some are saying leave town and forget the whole deal. Others might say stick around and work through the problems. Let's say he wants to know what you think. "What should I do?" Think about it. Here's some verses to ponder. On working hard to settle problems: Mt. 5:23-24, Mt. 18:15-18 In Christ's sermon on the mount, he counsels us to seek a quick settlement when our brother has ought against us. Later, he tells us if we have ought against another to seek resolution. In both passages it seems the Lord wants us to keep our relationships mended. Does that make it see like this person should stick around and try to work things out? On fleeing when there's trouble: Mt. 2:13, 1 Tim. 6:10-11 When Herod was in the hunt for Jesus, the angel guided Christ's family to get him out to a safe place. Later Paul instructed Timothy to flee things like the love of money. The person's trouble may center around a love for money. Does that make it look like he should just run away to avoid being caught up in the problem? On envy: Prov. 14:30, Prov. 27:4 These passages explain how destructive envy can be. You can see in the story how different parties seems to have a problem with envy. Would addressing the envy problem take care of the situation? These passages may or may not speak to the situation. Think about it. Check out other verses if you wish, perhaps on love, family love, being honest, playing favorites. Back them up with scritpure. This ought to be fun! Question For This Study Our Q&A section is changing a little. The above article speaks of a person with relationship troubles. The individual in our story closely resembles someone in scripture. Who is this person?Answer To Last Question A key doctrinal difference between the Pharisees and the Sadducess was their view of death and the resurrection. Acts 23:8 indicates the Sadducees didn't believe in spirits or the resurrection. The Phrisees did. |