The War on Principles

God Morning Believers!

Week one of the Sacred Season of Success (S3) has come and gone and week two is well underway. Praises to God for the marvelous things He has done! I pray that you began week two with a renewed sense of purpose, clarity, power, and peace to carry you through the next 12 days. God is healing, transforming, and preparing us for His purposes and His glory.

Someone emailed me and said they had been praying last week about the attitudes, behaviors, habits, ways of believers that displeased God. They were unsure if God had given them a revelation of these and they asked me for examples. You might be asking the same question...Can We Talk?! 

Certainly we are all aware that God is not pleased with sin. Most of us know sin when we see it, especially in the lives of others? Why is that? What may not always be obvious are those behaviors, attitudes, habits and ways that remain unchecked and unaddressed for years as we travel this road of salvation. As sanctified believers we should always be on guard and in the process of eliminating these behaviors from our lives because they keep us bound, damage our testimony, and prevent us from looking and acting like Jesus. I provided a very short list below.

Grumbling and complaining

Discontent

Anger and rage

Fanning the flames of other's anger

Bitterness

Unforgiveness

Gossip

Critical and judgemental spirits
Lacking integrity
Worrying
Making Excuses
Always blaming others for our issues (no personal accountability)


I believe that God is teaching us to manage our emotions. Those emotions that spill out onto others causing them hurt while accomplishing nothing. Settle down! One example of this is the notion of fighting for the "principle of the matter." Oh you know, so you have done this before, right?!

How often have you said or heard someone say "it's the principle of the thing". Very often we allow "the principle" of the matter to move us right out of our sanctification process and right out of the will of God. For example, we have all had someone ask us to do something at the last minute. We might get all worked up about this request, start grumbling and complaining already knowing that we are or are not going to complete the request. This may also happen when someone promises to deliver something and then backs out or delivers part of what they promised, leaving us in a lurch. Our behavior and attitude about the situation is often related to the principle, not to the request or disappointment. Meanwhile the behavior or attitude we display does not please God and may leave others, particularly unbelievers questioning our relationship with Him.

We have to stop fighting the war on principle. It is ONE that can never be WON on our salvation journey. It only serves to delay our sanctification by distracting us and getting us off course. Satan loves to distract us and a principle war is a great weapon in his arsenal to divide us through some unnecessary and trivial conflict.

Think about all the times you waged the war on principles. Did you win? Was God pleased with your war waging tactics, countenance, and language?

God wants us to fight where fighting matters...fighting for the souls of the lost.

Are you fighting a war of principles right now? Are you the cheerleader in someone else's war on principles? Is it really worth it?

Let Jesus Lead
Aqua