A few weeks ago I posted a blog called, “What does love looks like? We know that love looks like God because He is love and though we can’t actually see Him we can see His son, Jesus. To get an understanding about why Jesus could say, “If you see Me you see the Father” we utilized the formula “C=M+E”. This same formula also explains how we can make adjustments personally to be able to say what Jesus said.
(Chapter 5 in my book “Character Blocks” will go into more detail about this or you can re-read the past three blogs as a refresher.)
Using “C=M+E” we examined the lives of Samuel and Saul (I Samuel 8-16). We practiced identifying their alarms (E) and their thoughts (M) so that we could get an understanding of what factors contributed to their character (C).
We were able to see that Samuel filled his mind with what the Lord thought. Even when a negative emotion (M+E) arose he didn’t allow them to be the greater influence over his thoughts. What he said or did (C) brought glory to the Lord because he honored God’s input.
Saul on the other hand struggled greatly in this area. Much of the time he allowed negative emotions (the enemies of love) to have more of an influence than what God said. In other words, instead of Saul following the formula “C=M+E” he used another one that looked more like, “C=M+E÷E”.
In chapter 15 Saul heard what God wanted (M) him to do regarding the Amalikites and it would appear that he intended (E) to obey (C). Once he actually got out into battle, however, he let something change his mind. He told Samuel, “I feared (÷E) the people and so obeyed their voice…”. When he feared the people more than he feared God (24) he allow the second emotion (E) to override what God told him to do.
The “÷E” is an additional emotion that creeps into the mix causing division or compromise. These enemies of love identified as “fear and guilt” purpose to hinder us from looking like our heavenly Father.
Before this enemy confronts you again it is important to answer the question, “Who is our daddy?”
Is it possible that Samuel faced an enemy of love in 8:7? It would appear that God knew something was going on with him because He said, “They have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me…”.
Could it be that Samuel was feeling guilty about not being able to convince the people that having a king was not a good thing? Could it be that God knew what was in his heart (M) and made a timely deposit, which gave Samuel another thought to draw from?
What we do know is that Samuel did not allow the enemy of love to influence his final decision. It would appear that Samuel listened (M) to the Lord and allowed Him to be the greater influence, allowing the manifestation of a “C” that emulated his Father .
We know that God is love and all that He says and does looks like love. His ways prove to be beneficial for all concerned. The enemies of love, however, are just the opposite. There may be times when they actually produce a fruit that appears to look like love, however, pay attention when you get to the core. In the long run this “C” does not offer beneficial results. (John 10:10)
It is important to remember that God’s math is multiplication not Division and He is into excellence not compromise.
Look what happened to Saul in I Samuel 15:28. He compromised the word of the Lord and God tore the kingdom from him. In fact, go back and reread the accounts of Saul and be reminded about the other negatives that resulted because he allowed the enemies of love to influence his “C”s.
Most of us understand that if we were to compromise on the quality of materials for building a house it could fall down. Since building a house is such a big investment we would want to put our trust in building codes rather than to take a chance on such a great loss.
Unfortunately I learned about building codes the hard way. A house I owned had a foundation that nearly collapsed due to a crumbling foundation wall. I called a contractor who shared his concerns about the high winds and heavy rains that we were experiencing at the time. He said it was possible that this weather could bring the house down that very evening. He strongly encouraged me to let him build a support wall immediately.
I trusted his wisdom and contracted for him to get to work that same night. Then a few days later he removed the wall and discovered a few telling facts about the structure. He told me that the bricks were not load-bearing, the mortar lacked load-bearing qualities and that there were no footings. So when he rebuilt the wall he purposed to bring things up to code by using building materials that possessed the load-bearing qualities. (Read more about that in the Introduction of my book “Character Blocks”.)
I shared that story to help us see just how important codes are. When our Creator speaks to us He is sharing His building codes (M) that allow us to look like Him. And His words are always load-bearing, causing us to stand strong against the enemy who comes to kill, steal, and destroy.
Have you built according to code or have you made some compromises? You can know if the enemies of love have had the greater influence over you if you are experiencing certain symptoms.
When you have wanted to say “Yes” (agreeing with what He says) to the Lord but have actually said “No” (allowing the enemy of love to influence your decision) take a look at the various symptoms that can occur:
Mental Health: anger, anxiety, depression, OCD, etc.
Physical Health: high blood pressure, heart issues, obesity, cancer, etc.
Relational Health: control, manipulation, etc.
Functional Health: disorganized, inability to complete a goal or task, etc.
A symptomatic life is a compromised life. When one has a compromised life he needs a cure. That will be addressed in a future blog. For now, it is suffice to say, “Quit allowing the enemies of love to influence against the word of the Lord. Put your trust in His building code. Only He knows how to help you stand against the storms of life.
Be blessed,
Dr. Terry