[Biblemat] "ILLUSTRATIONS & OBSERVATIONS" >A

[Churchmousejd at wmconnect.com]

DISAPPOINTMENT

We are all familiar with the story of Job. The loss of all his material 
wealth not only affected him, but his wife as well. Notice the question she asked 
him, "dost thou still hold fast thine integrity? Renounce God, and die." Job 
2:9b. What prompted her to respond this way? Simply put, she was disappointed! 
She felt all of job's efforts to worship God had gained them nothing and that 
God had failed to protect them from this terrible tragedy. Her wealth was gone 
too, as well as her husband's health, children and social standing. But their 
reactions were very different. Job said she spoke as one of the foolish women 
(and we may assume from this she was normally a level headed person) and " in 
all this did not Job sin with his lips." Job 2:10 b. I've often wondered how 
many of us would have reacted as did Job's wife.
I dare say there is not one among us that hasn't suffered adversity to some 
degree or another. We may become disappointed with ourselves, with others or 
with things that do not come up to our expectations. One of the most powerful 
weapons Satan has in his arsenal is disappointment. A disappointed person is 
prone to react irrationally, or not use the good judgment they ordinarily would.
Perhaps the most hurtful of all is when one becomes disappointed with their 
brethren. This may cause them to say hurtful things or sometimes leave the 
church altogether. I know of situations where this has happened. And it's very 
difficult to ever bring them back into the fold. Solomon wrote, " a brother 
offended is harder to be won than a strong city." Pro.18:19. Sometimes a person may 
feel their brethren don't care about them because they went through a 
difficult time, sickness or some other trying situation and no one offered to help or 
even bother to call or drop them a note expressing their concern. Oh, they 
will shake your hand, slap you on the back and say how good it is to see you. 
But that's the only time they have to talk to you. It seems you are their 
'brother' only when they see you at the church building! Such lack of concern could 
certainly be view as hypocritical. Or they may have discussed their problem 
with them but they seemed unconcerned. And basically did not want to get 
involved, perhaps from fear their friends might criticize them.  Sometimes there may 
be a problem between brethren but one cares so little they don't even bother 
to tell them or just refuse to discuss it. And rather than putting forth an 
honest effort to resolve the matter (as the scriptures teach) they just ignore 
the situation, stop calling, or having any further contact with them at all, 
hoping it will some how get better on its on. Yet we are plainly told in Matt. 
18:15, "If thy brother sin against thee, go show him his fault between thee and 
him alone: if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother."  But how can 
problems be resolved between brethren when they refuse to talk to each other? These 
problems will not just go away or solve themselves. While these unresolved 
issues often fade from our minds with the passing of years, no amount of time 
will fix them. Twenty years may go by, but they will still be there until they 
are dealt with.  Even the strongest among us could become discouraged under 
those circumstances. 
However, a person must recognize people don't always behave as they should, 
or even do what they know to be right. And we must not only have patience with 
them and stand ready to face these problems, but also to forgive. We often 
become too involved in our own lives and just neglect our duties toward our 
brethren. A constant reminder that we are our brother's keeper comes from studying 
God's word and then putting into practice the principles it teaches. And God 
will hold us accountable for neglecting our duty toward our brethren 
(Matt.25:41-46). Life has its complications and we all will experience disappointment in 
our lives. How we react to them will show us how much love, trust and faith 
we have in God and his word.
J.D.Williams
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