So treat others like YOU want to be treated.. speak words of life. Christ has never give up on president Trump and like it or not is saved. I posted on a Christian site a video of president Trump talking about the most famous person. The people shouted he was.. he said no not me.. Jesus Christ it.. and GOD being the boss. They deleted that video post.
Hi Blade, and thanks for your very thoughtful words.
I quoted your words because I’m actually struggling with this.
You see, I have a sibling who suffers mental illness and right now he is very difficult to be around. Here is the problem. If I treat him the way I want to be treated, then my standards do not match his standards. I want to respect others, but I also want to be held accountable when I’m being disrespectful. I want to be honest, and I need others around me to call me out if I start to bend the truth in my favor.
When I treat my sibling in this manner, it creates severe conflict. Simply put, my sibling sees the world in a vastly different light than most. Often, his imagination misconstrues what is being said even to the point of agreeing with him becomes a disagreement because he hears what he wants to hear because he claims to see through words to ones original intent. This is delusional thinking. It is not based in reality.
How is this lived out? I love him and want the best for him. But I do not have the temperance to be in his company. I am 54 and our last conflict resulted in physical confrontation where I walked away from it.
Our Father is dying and just got out of Surgery and is having his ups and downs. None of us expects him to live through this year, but who knows. In addition, we just found out our step Mother is dying and only has a few months to live. My son and I are driving across the country next weekend to be with them. Working from home is a perk from Covid, so I will simply work from over there. My brother asked if he could drive over with us. I said no. It was one of the most difficult things I’ve had to tell him. Mentally, he is not well. I do not believe we could be in the same car for two days without it turning physical. He is an angry man and anything within his imagination sets him off.
Its difficult sharing the same space with a delusional person. It’s easy to love him, but it’s very hard to live out that love. It’s even harder to love him as I love myself. What sets me free is not loving him as myself but instead, I try to love him as God loves me. You see, God loves me way more than I love myself. Understanding this reminds me how I need to love my brother, not as myself, but rather, as God loves me.