Dr. Laura’s Quote of the Week
Posted by angela on 03/7/08 in Domestic Ramblings
Good, honest, hardheaded character is a function of the home. If the proper seed is sown there and properly nourished for a few years, it will not be easy for that plant to be uprooted. — George A. Dorsey, anthropologist
That was Dr. Laura’s Quote of the Week
I listen to Dr. Laura on our local AM station when I’m cleaning up my kitchen OR when the kids are napping. Sometimes I will have it on in the background while I work on something at my desk.
I like Dr. Laura because she doesn’t sugar coat it OR tell people what they want to hear and in turn could care less what the rest of the world thinks to a point. In so many ways she reminds me of ME.
Today on her blog she posted the quote of the week. The first thing I thought of when I read it was: You Reap What You Sow
The basic nature of God’s Justice:
GALATIANS 6: 7-9 (KJV)
7: Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8: For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
9: And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
THE DEFINITIONS:
1. Everything that you do has repercussions. It comes back to you one way or another.
2. You cannot escape the consequences of your actions. What you do comes back to you.
3. You will see the long-term effects of your actions.
4. KARMA - The total effect of a person’s actions and conduct during the successive phases of the person’s existence, regarded as determining the person’s destiny, especially, in his next incarnation.
5. What goes around comes around.
6. Your actions all have consequences. Don’t ever be fooled into thinking that your actions don’t have consequences. Don’t think you can get away with bad choices even if you don’t seem to get caught. Remember verse seven tells us that God cannot be mocked. He sees it all. You reap what you sow.
Watch the way you live your life because you reap what you sow.
We sow in one season, we reap in another.
Sow a thought you reap an act. Sow an act, you reap a habit. Sow a habit, you reap a character. Sow a character, you reap a consequence.
Ephesians 6:4 (New International Version)
4Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
The proper seeds were only sometimes sown in the home. We are fortunate enough to have just the right amount of nourishment from God to realize that we are not what they said we were.
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Tracy | Mar 7, 2008 | Reply
Great insights!
The good thing about about everything you said, is that it applies on the OTHER side of the coin as well.
For every GOOD thing we sow, we reap something good in return.
Eccl. 12: 14
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Matt. 16: 27
27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
2 Cor. 5: 10
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Malachi 3:10
“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
I love that one– it’s quite a promise. He’ll open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing so great that we don’t even have room to receive it!
angela | Mar 8, 2008 | Reply
It’s so easy to be swept up with the bad, isn’t it? Thank you Tracy for reminding me that it’s ok to do try and do your best to focus on the good.
People that know how to deal with negative situations and how to overcome negativity in general have my deepest respect.
Those are great verses. I looked those up today and it made for some awesome reading.
I guess it’s safe to say that God has us in mind when our hearts are troubled as well as when we step out of our comfort zone to do right by somebody that does wrong to us.
What do you guys think of this..
Is it ok for people to distance themselves from those that are unusually cruel with their actions and behavior?
What do you think?
Tracy | Mar 9, 2008 | Reply
Of course it is!! I think the important part, (and probably the HARD part) is being willing to forgive them. And that could happen in two different ways.
Either the person comes to a realization of the harm they’ve done and SEEKS forgiveness and you offer it in return, OR that person NEVER admits the harm they’ve done– but we STILL need to forgive them. That doesn’t mean that you buddy up and hang out. Particularly if a person is abusive. Forgiving them doesn’t mean allowing yourself or someone else to continue to be abused. It also doesn’t mean that they go without consequences. Forgiving someone of committing a crime against you, doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be subject to the law. But rather that you don’t let anger or hatred rule your emotions. You let them go. And depending on the damage done, it could be quite a process. It’s probably one of the hardest things to do.
Tracy | Mar 9, 2008 | Reply
Don’t mean to hog the thread– but I should have included the scripture that speaks about this.
Matthew 18:15-17
Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
So we’re supposed to do all we can to heal the relationship. But relationships are two way things– the other person has to be willing.
Bibically- a heathen was a pagan or gentile. Someone who worshipped false gods.
The publicans were Jews who were hired by the Roman government to collect taxes within their own hometown area. They were often very dishonest and were thought of as extortionists. And naturally, the Jews considered them traitors.
So here you have the Lord saying that when someone really hurts you, and you’ve done all you can to try and seek a reconciliation, but to no avail, that you CAN and sometimes even SHOULD distance yourselves– consider the offender like a “heathen” or a “publican”.
But as with all scripture, you can’t use ONE scripture at the exclusion of others, because the Lord is also the one who gave the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Samaritans were considered heathens by the Jews– and Jews were considered obnoxious, uptight, holier-than-thous by the Samaritans. They didn’t like each other. But the whole point of that story, is that despite their dislike of each other, and their avoidance of each other, we should ALWAYS reach out with Christlike kindness to those in need.
In regards to someone who’s unusally cruel and hurtful, I think it’s appropriate to distance yourself from them. I think when you’re able to let go of any anger and pain, and forgive them (but again, that doesn’t mean you put yourself back into a normal relationship with them) then you’ve applied the following:
Matthew 5: 44
But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
That’s the whole essence of the Good Samaritan.
angela | Mar 9, 2008 | Reply
Tracy, you can hog my entire blog any time you want to! Thank you so much for taking the time to explain where you are coming from and to make it easy to find these ideas in the Bible.
I believe people are stubborn to the point that they will not see their part in a bad situation. Not because they don’t want to but because they are not capable of owning up to their contribution to the problem. They either don’t know how to, don’t believe that they have to bother because of age and social status, paranoia could play a roll, or they are just plain stubborn. These same people often feel as though the entire world is against them including their own children.
I believe when you constantly have to work at a relationship and it never changes for the better OR it takes a turn towards being hurtful to your own children, then that is when it’s probably time to cut ties with the individual.
Forgiving them from a distance and praying for them that one day they may see their part in the dysfunctional issues and realizing that it may never happen is something I think a lot of people struggle with.
Deep down I don’t hate anybody. I am disgusted with certain situations but I know it’s up to me to know when it’s appropriate to try and fix it and when it’s beyond fixing. Sometimes you just have to let go and let God handle it.
Tracy | Mar 9, 2008 | Reply
Amen!!