My Brother & I

In Ephesians 4:31-32 Paul writes: “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” In this passage we are given some vital instruction on how to get along with each other.

 

First, the apostle presents the negative side. There are certain things which are out: 1- bitterness (long-standing resentment) 2- wrath (outbreaks of passion) 3- anger (long-lived anger) 4- clamour (loud talking and insulting language) 5- and all malice. As Christians we must work to remove all these from our lives.

 

Next, the apostle presents the positive side. He writes: “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.” We are all imperfect human beings. We will not be able to live at peace with one another if we demand perfection of our brother while we ourselves are imperfect. The Christian’s attitude toward his brothers and sisters in Christ should always be one of kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness.

 

When Christians manifest this attitude toward one another, Satan is hard pressed to disrupt the harmony of God’s people.

Claude