Life Lesson: Block, Leave, Delete

By nature, I am a person who likes to get along with people, regardless of how they treat me. I have been like this since my childhood days. Ever since I got saved, I have continued to exercise kindness, tolerance, patience, and be willing to bear with others. Of late, I have noticed certain people's negative behavior towards me, perhaps taking me for granted. Some of them have taken me so lightly that I left certain actions that need to be taken. As I grow in life, I begin to realize that my own natural goodness may not necessarily be of God. Oftentimes, I also need to deny my natural goodness and follow the Spirit's leading within me. The more I walk with the Lord, the more I am able to discern what is of my own goodness and what is of the Lord. Gradually, I am learning to deny myself, especially my good self. This needs clarity from the Lord within my spirit, as there is a thin line between the goodness that is from the Lord and the goodness that stems from myself. In many cases, the Spirit's leading may go hand in hand with my transformed being, and in some cases, my good self may try to overshadow the Spirit's leading. 

In July, as I was in a live semiannual training in Anaheim, USA, during the break, I was scrolling through my WhatsApp messages. A brother saw the messages and just spoke a sentence. Paraphrasing it, he said, "As a serving one, you should not misrepresent yourself by being in some WhatsApp groups that are full of Christianity stuff." Those words from my brother were the Lord's speaking to me. I had been receiving many WhatsApp messages from Christinaity, as many brothers have added me to the groups. Though I hardly read them, my being there indirectly could be reckoned as my consent to whatever had been posted in those groups. I was surprised to discover that I had even been made an admin in some of these groups that I never approved of. After praying and reconsidering my brother's speaking to me, I left many unwanted WhatsApp groups and deleted those groups from my mobile. Oh, what a salvation this is! The Lord opened my eyes to see that I have been tolerating the things I should be more strict with. 

There are also some brothers, mostly not meeting with the saints in the Lord's recovery, who have been sending me posts completely irrelevant to me. Many posts were religious stuff, which I will never approve of, or for an invitation to a meeting that I did not have the peace to attend, and some sent me messages that did not bring peace. I did not feel good to be a recipient of those posts. After much consideration, I blocked them one by one. This should send a message to them that I did not approve of what they had been doing or sending to me. I cannot be a "dumb idiot" receiving everything thrown to me. I had to cut what needed to be cut and block unwanted messages. However, I am open to them should they wish to call me for a genuine brotherly fellowship.

This is a life lesson I learned from my brother: block, leave, delete all unwanted groups, messages, and contacts.