People judge and condemn things based on their personal feelings and standards. They are affected by their parents' temperament or they have formed such mistaken standards while seeing, hearing, and learning things as they grew. As many people are self-centered these days, seeking their own benefits and thinking they are right, they easily judge others if something does not fit in accordance with their own standards.
Therefore, if you want to achieve the beautiful heart of spirit recognized by God, you should not insist on the criterion of your personal value system. You should just empty your heart thoroughly saying, "I die daily" and fill your heart with the truth. Now here are two standards to see if one has the heart of spirit or not.
Firstly, can you say you are nothing in any kind of situation and say it from your heart?
If your 'self' completely dies in the truth, you will not seek your own benefits and you will not feel jealous or envious comparing yourself with others. Since your 'self' remains alive, you still feel jealousy and hatred, and pass judgment and condemnation towards others. Or, you may have hard feeling towards them. A selfless person does not lose heart nor feel disappointed even when something does not go as he wants or expects because he has no expectations for himself.
As a man's self-righteousness becomes hardened, it forms his self-framework. Most parts of self-righteousness and self-frameworks are not right. This is because they are usually made from untruthful attributes such as seeking one's own benefits and not serving others. There are some people who have self-righteousness and self-frameworks although they say they are living by the Word of God.
Many of them begin to have self-righteousness because they think they have cast away untruths by God's Word and have the knowledge of the truth. When they establish their own frameworks, saying it is the will of God and force others to follow it, they insist on their self-righteousness.
Some leaders make a framework when they set a goal. The goal is like a framework for them and they want to achieve it in their strong righteousness. So, in the process of pushing ahead with it, they may often ignore others' opinions. Then, their subordinates cannot give other ideas and may feel uncomfortable because they are not united and just follow with discomfort and difficulties.
However, such leaders may not think that they are giving others a hard time because it is a work of God. They might think that their subordinates are having a hard time because they have little faith and lack their love for God, not because of them.
Therefore we ought to see everything, not in our self-righteousness or self-frameworks, but from the heart that God wants. We should have love, virtuous generosity, mercy and understanding of others' situations in goodness and with broad hearts, not with a narrow heart made of our self-framework. Only then can we pursue peace with all men and sanctification.
Secondly, can you say you hope that everything will be done only in God's will and His Word?
Because of their self-frameworks that they have made in the truth, some believers cannot fathom the depths of God's heart and will. They may think that they have heard the Holy Spirit's voice clearly and have been guided well by Him. But, in many cases they may actually apply their truthful knowledge stored in their brain to situations in their own will and understanding and not by having been led by the Holy Spirit's voice.
If you have completely thrown away self-frameworks and self-righteousness and achieved the heart of spirit, you can be guided by the Holy Spirit precisely at the right moment. But if you have desire with which you want to accomplish something great for God's kingdom, you may have selfish motives of your own glory. A spiritual person has enthusiasm for the Lord but does not have any greed for his own glory. He may just want God's will to be accomplished from the bottom of his heart. So, he can wait for the right time with patience and peace.
Even if God tells him to turn everything into nothing that he has done with devotion and a lot of work, he can obey it immediately with no regret or discomfort. It is because his desire is only in following God's will. He is always aware that he could be wrong even when it looks like he is right. So, he always listens carefully to others with a humble heart, even to a child. Moreover, he can obey God's will without giving any excuses or reasons for disobedience, even when God tells him to do what doesn't agree with common sense.
People of spirit do not judge things according to their self-framework and self-righteousness. They see things in goodness, and try to think in the heart of the Lord and the shepherd first. 'What would the Lord or the shepherd do in this situation?' If one achieves the heart of spirit perfectly, he will not only try to achieve God's work quickly and greatly but also try hard to do everything in generosity and peace. Because he seeks others' benefits in everything, he will not suppress others or force them to do something with his righteousness, even though he is right.
Even if someone else does harm to him, he will have mercy on the person rather than blaming him. Rather he may want to comfort and encourage the person. A person of spirit may sometimes let others deceive him although he knows they are deceiving. He just shows mercy to them, knowing that the one person cannot stop the will of God from being unfolded.
Such people can surrender themselves completely because they just want God's will to be achieved. They run with love for God. They believe from heart that everything will be done according to the will of God, so they are not impatient and they can wait patiently and quietly.
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