14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. Galatians 5:14–16, NASB
Even as we exercise discernment, withstand wolves in sheep’s clothing, false professors, false teachers, apostates, and even those who would slander us for standing firm in our obedience, in these things we are not to respond to them the way the world does. I listened to a sound clip from Chris Matthews’ show the other day in which he used his usual ambush tactics in having a Christian leader there who had gone on record saying that his children were not going to be homosexuals because of the way he and his wife were raising them. Matthews had Barney Frank on the show who is a homosexual and “gay rights” advocate as well as a legislator from Massachusetts. Both he and Matthews jumped all over this man for daring to state that children are not born with a certain sexual orientation, but instead, it is something that is a learned behavior that is exacerbated as the sin nature takes over. Of course, this really set them off. They even kept replaying his words trying to get him confused and, of course, to court outrage in the listening audience. What was this man’s response? He remained calm in demeanor. He never lashed out. He never went on the offensive. He simply remained Christlike in telling the truth and never backing down, but also, never allowed these men to cause him to lose his cool. I’m not so sure I could have handled it that well.