Articles
Walking with Heart
Enoch is a person in the Bible mentioned only a handful of times, but the most important fact we know about him is that he walked with God. As we walk with God, the way we treat others is one indicator of how close our relationship with Him is. Every person on this Earth has been created by God. Thus, the circumstances surrounding everyone we meet is an opportunity for our heart to shine for God.
In the moments that we go through struggles ourselves or realize others are in a "the pit," we need to let God be stronger and shine. Joseph is a good example of this in Genesis 50:20, when he replied to his brothers about their transgressions against him. When we ask ourselves, “What if?” we begin to act like Joseph’s brothers did a few verses earlier. Notice that this question is never followed by positive thoughts but rather something fearful or another negativity. These biases, judgements, fears, and other thoughts will stop us from acting out God’s love to others.
Another reason that kills our opportunities to help others in this life is our indifference towards others. While indifference is often just not caring about another, it can also happen when we pat ourselves on the back too quickly for helping: we send a card to someone telling them you care to cheer them up, yet ignore them in person going forward. Society has developed such an addiction to indifference that we don’t realize it is happening till it is too late. It is only by means of studying God’s word and absorbing it in heart, as well as in mind, that we can overcome this addiction to indifference.
We also must realize that we should not wonder why others are not helpful if we are acting like nothing is wrong. In this case, of course no one is helping--because we aren’t allowing them to see us struggling! The Bible does not tell us that we aren't going to go through events in life we can’t handle, but there will be things we can only get through with His strength. We must be able to be open to His help and have the viewpoint that what we go through is for His good purpose, for us and our faith.
Inspired by: Genesis 50:15-21, Genesis 5:21-24, Genesis 37:12-28, Matthew 25:31-46, Romans 5:1-8
