Monday, July 9, 2007

Christian Character: Tact or Indiscretion

I Corinthians 9:19-22 "For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ, that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some."

Paul used tact. Tact means a sensitive mental perception. Tact is redemptive in its power because it is like Christ.

In John chapter 4 we see the account of the Samaritan woman at the well. He was sensitive to her need and approached the situation with tact letting her know what her need was.

When God saved us He changed us. He created a new creature in us. We need tact about us when we go out and represent Him in the world. Our character is stuck with us like glue. While we are representing Christ we are also representing our church. A person with no tact will not be successful in winning others to Christ nor will they be successful in getting people to visit their church. Once a person blows their character (or testimony of it) it is hard to build it back up.

We should not take our character lightly. We represent Christ. We will either help to build our character or we will help to destroy it. A person with good Christian character is more effective in their witness to others.

There is a change of attitude...Character is associated with a name. We need to get some tact. We are building our character our whole life. God changes our attitude. He is the only One Who can. People of good character also run together and people of bad character run together. We tend to want to be around people who are like us. Our crowd we hang with says alot.

There is a change in appraisal...We need to put greater value on spiritual things. We need a high appraisal for the grace of God and what it can do.

There is a change of ambition...We'll have an ambition to serve God.

Romans 12:17-19 "Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." The Scriptures remind us we are not to be offended easily. We should know that we don't need to fight our battles. God will fight them for us. Verses 20 & 21 tell us what we should do. "Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." We should let God work on them and keep our mouth shut. We need to be an over comer on the side of good. If someone does us bad then we should respond with good.

We also need to respect sinners. Its them we're trying to reach. We need to use tact because they have feelings. They have faults but it is not up to us to point those out. We need to let the Holy Spirit point them out to the person. We need to show courtesy. We also need to show concern and compassion.

Proverbs 11:22 "As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman with is without discretion." Tact is managing the feelings of a person in a correct manner. Indiscretion will defeat tact. To have no discretion is to be unwise.

These notes were taken from a message preached by Bro. Garland Odom on Friday morning June 29, 2007 at Faith Baptist Camp.

14 comments:

CindyMae said...

What an excellent post Sis Julie. I thank God every day that He has made me new. I am thankful that I am no longer the person I use to be! We all need to use tact and for some that is a very hard thing to do, but once God has made us that new creature it is much easier for sure!

Sis. Julie said...

sis. cindy...you are so right that once we get saved that it is much easier to use tact in dealing with people. But you are also right in that it is still a hard thing to do at times...especially when someone treats us wrong.

Theresa's Notes said...

There is a change of attitude;
__________________________________

When I was lost, I was not a nice person. I hated kids and always looked for a chance to hurt them.

But when I got saved, my heart was different. And because of my transformation, hateful to nice, a little girl got saved. and I never said anything to her. The little girl is my niece.

Thank the Lord for changing me.

Sandy said...

Why is it tha tI can't seem to totally grasp and come to terms with god fighting my battles for me? As much as I say I want to hand them completely over to Him, I still end up holding on and trying to fight my own battles on my own.... Stubborness runs in my family - I guess I got that real honest.... Thank you for keeping me in your prayers. I appreciate that so much!

Love you Sis. Julie!

Sis. Julie said...

sis. theresa...I can relate to how you acted toward children before getting saved. I had the same problem. Only it was my own kids. I didn't want to be at home. I worked as a Burger King assistant manager and I worked 70-80 hrs. a week. The more hours the better to me. I didn't like being home with my husband and children. Thank God He saved me and put a love in my heart for them that I didn't have before being saved. There is definitely a change of attitude!!

Sis. Julie said...

sis. sandy....we all struggle with God fighting our battles. For some reason our "old man" wants to take care of things for us. Problem is when the "old man" gets involved it always creates more of a mess. May God continue to give grace and help in your letting Him have your problems and take care of them. He is the Faithful One you know!! Love you Sis!!

TO BECOME said...

Great Post. I always remember when I am dealing with the lost "Except for the grace of God that would be me." In fact at one time in my life it was me, LOST. I just want the lost to know that it can be better and I pray that they see that in my life.connie from Texas

Anonymous said...

amen!
This is a real weak point for me. Balancing the boldness of a lion with the tact of a reasoner.

Anonymous said...

It all boils down to love doesn't it? We don't accept the sin but we love the sinner, we genuinley care about their soul and their lives. If we love and care for people then we will naturally be tactful and discreet.

Looks like you learned lots at camp!

Sis. Julie said...

sis. connie....It would be me too!! I pray I will have tact and that others will see Christ in me as well.

Sis. Julie said...

bro. bill....I think we can all say this is a weak area in our lives. The time I have the most problem is when someone does me or one of my family members wrong. I just need to remember that the battle isn't with them...it is with the devil...and that I can't fight that battle on my own...the battle is the Lord's.

Sis. Julie said...

sis. sarah...Yes ma'am...I got a lot of help at camp. And I get to go back in three weeks and get more help!!! Yay!!

Mishel said...

Excellent!! Amen! I am so encouraged by reading these posts from camp! Thank you so much for taking the time to share these Julie!

Sis. Julie said...

sis. mishel....I'm so glad you have enjoyed them. I know they helped me tremendously.

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