Should I Stay, Or Should I Go?

Today, as 10th of April we looked up Proverbs 10 for our special verse for today. We came up with verse 23. To do evil is like sport to a fool, But a man of understanding has wisdom. NKJV. Which of course, led us to pondering the word evil as follows:

What is meant by evil? A good answer is arguably: evil is the result of sin. Which begs the question, what is sin? That's seems best addressed by James 4:17. “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not, to him it is a sin.”

Such is ‘cut and dried’ and way past any possibility of doubt. Unless perhaps, it has to do with relationships. See, as we chose the verse, we remembered a prayer request in last night's service by a father about a painful situation faced by his son on the job.

Like most painful situations, it had to do with differences.

Not only was the other individual a woman, but she was also a different race. So, over and above daily needs to accomplish goals productivity deadlines, he faced the angst of: “Given these hassles now seeming to only get worse, I’m beginning to wonder:

So, should I Stay, Or Should I Go?”

See, few issues of this first life are as hard to handle as uncertainty. And for Jose as a century 21 disciple of Lord Jesus, because he’d openly shared his testimony on the job, it’s hard for him to avoid thinking the flak he’s facing isn’t reprisal for him sharing his faith in God.

But when storms of disharmony drive winds of strife, we do best to lower our ‘sails of quick solutions’ and slow down by dropping our anchor of faith. Sure, we may experience the angst of not being in control, but our ship will better ride waves of frustration, and as we allow Jesus’ Holy Spirit to steady us as penned by W.C. Martin:

              And it holds, my anchor holds, Blow your wildest then Oh gale

                On my bark so small and frail, By His grace I shall prevail  

                     For it holds, my anchor firmly holds, My anchor holds…

If we’re calm in storms and strife, we can more easily see people who hurt us are actually victims. As they appear to enjoy harassing us, their ‘sport’ can potentially hurt them. God affirms “Vengeance is mine, I will repay”, Deuteronomy 32:35 for Whatever someone sows is what they will reap. Galatians 6:7.

Yup. Fully understanding persecution gives us knowledge. Knowledge to realize the hazards faced by a clueless unbeliever. Such knowledge drives us to our knees to pray for the spiritually foolish, and we’re rather able to anticipate the day they’ll eventually acknowledge:

“Somebody prayed for me, had me on their mind”                                                                 Took the time and prayed for me, I’m so glad they prayed                                           I’m so glad they prayed, I’m so glad they prayed for me” …

Some days, it’s hard to remember Jesus promised “I have told you these things, so that you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Instead, it’s easy to think others are attacking us. Truth is the Enemy of souls is using the (usually there’s no God) fool under his control to cause us grief.

Grief on the job, grief in the classroom, grief by an irritable driver on the road, grief among siblings, and most perplexing, even heart wrenching grief at home. Key is for us to ensure “Our yes is yes, and our no is no”, trusting Jesus’ Holy spirit to empower us to be faithful to our promises large and small. And:

As God’s Redemptive Action Changes Everything about our circumstances, we can “Let our light so shine before men so they may see our good works and eventually, glorify our Father Who is in Heaven. Matthew 5:16. With such a perspective, it’s easier to see why God may want us to endure harsh, lonely deserts of pain and frustration.

Dr. B. aka Carlton April 10, 2025