Wolves is sheep’s clothing

Apples and Oranges.

Two completely different natures that cannot be mixed.

Love can be a two-sided coin of counterfeit and in some cases it takes a slow and steady hand to flip the coin from bad to good, from hate to love, from wrong to right.

The Nine Supernatural Attributes

- Love: Sacrificial, unconditional goodwill toward others, modeled by Christ.

- Joy: Deep, abiding gladness rooted in God, independent of circumstances.

- Peace: Internal tranquility and harmony, resting in God’s sovereignty.

- Patience: Long-suffering endurance and slowness to anger under provocation.

-Kindness: Tender concern, benevolence, and useful goodness toward neighbors.

-Goodness: Moral purity and active virtue expressed in upright actions.

-Faithfulness: Absolute reliability, trustworthiness, and loyalty to commitments.

-Gentleness: Meekness, humility, and power under control, avoiding harshness.

-Self-control: Mastery over sinful desires, passions, and personal impulses. (Ai)

Quite difficult to make this team of nine, would or wouldn’t you agree? On a day to day basis, on a week to week basis and so on and so on. Survival skills and tactics corner, dare us and at times render us hopeless and helpless to do the right thing.

The counterfeit mimics. For example: As a well-versed-people- pleaser already knows, pleasing is only a means to an end. True loves seeks another person’s highest good. A counterfeiter may manipulate in a quest to be loved by an undeserving giver. Love is simple, it is what it is. Another honest-to-goodness comparison of attributes to aspire to is that of kindness versus flattery. “Oh, how nice you look today!” When perhaps what we are really getting at is “What can you do for me?” True kindness helps others without expecting a reward; counterfeit kindness uses superficiality and superficial compliments to gain personal favors. (ai)

How do we get to a practice or a place in life where we can know the difference? I should have known better— but I didn’t kind of existence. This nine attribute life practice would help us align with high instead of low integrity people.

How to live in a life-plan of a peace that passes understanding?

One place to start….

By studying the difference between genuine and fake.💎🪨

Become skilled in recognizing the real versus the fake by spending time with it, experiencing it in real-life situations, and above all,

feeling it.

Warning: In some cases it is a marathon and not a sprint. Stamina and endurance are key elements of a successful life of truth and honesty, goodness and joy. A relaxed spirit of human regard for others who you cross paths with in your day, your journey is finding what is real. The end product becomes a lesson in value. Yours, your family, friends, neighbors and the one who doesn’t speak…

The dog.

Dog is God spelled backwards.

God is Dog spelled backwards.

Loyal until the end of time.

If you choose to step on the narrow path in seeking even one or two of the nine attributes, what is you you hope to learn?

Positive or negative. Looking in the mirror is not always fun.

We hunger for the desperate apple Eve enticed Adam to bite.

But the serpent tested Eve first.

”Bite me.” The apple begged Adam under the guise of Eve.

Round and round we go.

”The tongue has the power of life and death.” And.”Those who love it will eat its fruit. Be hungry no more?

Not exactly. Living the nine attributes while walking the narrow path takes a slow and steady mind, a grasp of realty versus counterfeit. “The poor plead for mercy, but the rich answer harshly.” (Proverbs 18/NV)

Yes. Money talks. The weak beg for their day in the sun, their day in court and what they think they deserve. Oftentimes at the expense of a meek and humble operative trying to attain the ultimate attributes of a good and decent human being. “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin; but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

God. The father of our brother Jesus😃.

Under God’s guidance, Jesus tells us over and over again. And then He tells us again. Until the one beautiful day, we feel it for what it is.

Love. His love. You see, the thing with humans is, as flawed as we are, and as tricky as we think we can be, we all have a bit of counterfeit driving our day, days, day to day. He is unrelenting. We falter and fail by our own supposed wants and needs. Good thing He always know how to steer our apple cart.🍎👏🏻

We resist because we think we know better. Stumbling along the narrow path negotiating and making deals with ourselves and the mini-devils who whisper in our ears moment by moment. We are weak.He is strong. He mercifully allows us to both learn the hard way and then keeps reminding us of the better way.

Pretty darn humbling. When we have to look in the mirror. He has heard all of our excuses and blow-hard thoughts. He knows our playbook and he gently whispers in our ear,

”Get over yourself.”

Hop on and off the narrow path, He directs us to,

”Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.” (Luke 14)

Do you see what is happening here? Screaming even louder is His promise. His promise of love over an extended family member’s shallow invitation with strings attached and no promise of a tangible plan. Being invited to the party is one thing. The aftermath is another. We can pretend or we can get real. Fake it until we make it, or use God’s checklist of nine honest attributes to value our own way of thinking and buck the other trends of compromise, flattery and fake love.

Simple, but not easy.

Weakness, tired, jealousy all get in our ways as ways to knee cap and weaken our resolve. The nemesis comes in all shapes and sizes and smiles and grins. Animal, vegetable and mineral.

Wolves in sheep’s clothing know a thing or two about the tools of hate.

And.

They ain’t afraid to us it.