I think you should take most things in life at face value and not look for meaning beyond what you are actually presented with, because you won’t find meaning in every crevice on the planet. This is how conspiracy theories start, and how people are defamed because someone spreads rumors and accusations based on a “deeper meaning” that only exists in their head. And trying to deduce what someone is thinking is a fools errand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I understand discernment, but it should never be an excuse to ignore the plain truth standing right in front of you. Sometimes, a person says exactly what they mean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you spend your life trying to read between lines that aren’t there, you’ll end up exhausted by ghosts of your own making. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before you have a theological meltdown, yes I understand that there is a spiritual realm, that Satan exists, and that this world is steeped in deception, but some people are really too paranoid. If you’re suspicious about everything and everyone around you–the problem might be you. I once knew someone who couldn’t walk through the mall without having a theological fit at every display, every store, and every person. They could trace almost anything back to the evil one. Needless to say, they were very depressed, defeated, and angry all of the time. That’s not discernment, it’s just plain negativity. By contrast, some people see God’s beauty and experience God’s indescribable joy everywhere they go. Where some people are driven to despair when they see the sin nature in people, others see God’s imprint on everyone (see Gen 1:27), and cherish the hope that anyone can be reconciled to God (See 2 Cor 5:19). Strange how that works. By the way, you won’t hear any of this in seminary, and it might not fit into your doctrinal framework, but it’s biblical truth nonetheless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nBut if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness Matt 6:23<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
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