this is what i learned from church today!

"HOW TO RELATE WISELY WITH OTHERS"
by: Pastor Norman Lao
---James 2:12-18

someone said: shared joy is double joy and shared sorrow is half the sorrow.. :>

relationships are treasures. When you talk to someone, you actually plant a seed in that person's life. What kind of seed are you planting in the hearts of people? is it confidence? peace? love? we simply reap what we sow in relationships.. when we sow love, we reap love, same with trust and many more. the question is, HOW CAN WE PLANT PEACE?
answer: YOU ONLY NEED WISDOM! we need to learn how to be wise in the way we treat other people. Education is different from wisdom. no matter how rich and educated you are, if your relationships are falling apart, you will always be miserable. WISDOM is a LIFESTYLE. WISDOM is CHARACTER. It creates HUMILITY. KNOWLEDGE causes PRIDE.

(read James 3:14-16)

Lack of wisdom causes problems. LOTS AND LOTS OF PROBLEMS.

James 3:17
--But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all PURE; then PEACE-LOVING, CONSIDERATE, SUBMISSIVE, FULL OF MERCY AND GOOD FRUIT, IMPARTIAL AND SINCERE.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A WISE PERSON

1. A wise person will not compromise his integrity
"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all PURE". Trust is very fragile. Be trustworthy! Proverbs 10:9 says, "the man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked path will be found out".. Preserve your integrity whether someone is watching or not. :)

2. A wise person will not antagonize the anger of others
Proverbs 20:3 -- It is to a man's honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.

Avoid the following to avoid arguments:

• avoid comparing
• avoid condemning
• avoid contradicting

There are things that we can change, and some we cant, so for the things that we cant, it is best to accept them...^^

3. A wise person will not minimize the feelings of others
Be considerate! try to put your feet in people's shoes so you may be able to understand them! just try to listen to them and never judge, JUST ENCOURAGE THEM. :)
Proverbs 15:4 says, The tongue that brings healing is the tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

4. A wise person does not criticize the decisions or suggestions of others
--A wise person learns from everybody. Only God knows everything..^^
A close-minded person is not wise. If you are wise, you will be open to reasons.

5. A wise person will not emphasize the mistakes of others!
we should not stigmatize people. We must forgive, forget and move one! We should give people the chance to recover from sin. There is no sense in condemning one another. Condemning a person will never change him, but LOVE CHANGES EVERYTHING!

6. A wise person will not disguise his/her weakness
Everybody has their own weakness, and also failures. If you are smart, you are not a phony. God loves you for who you are and you should love one another for who they are.

At the end of the day, what matters most is relationship.. Nothing else. just remember,
YOU ARE WISE!

reminder to self: read your bible and pray everyday in order to be wiser! :>