Just To Guilt Trip You. I’m Kidding…a Little

“If you try to reason with your brother and bring him to the way of salvation, try dialogue first. But if dialogue fails, guilt trip him-right before you frighten him with threats of fire and brimstone on that great day.” I’m sure this quote is somewhere in the book of Second Opinions. It is sandwiched right between the verses that say “cleanliness is next to godliness” and “heaven helps those who help themselves”.

Now you know why you haven't been hearing God!

So in complete adherence to my version of scriptures, having dialogued with you on why it is important to meditate on scriptures, it is time to wield the (in)famous ‘g’ and that is definitely not God. It is guilt. God never guilt trips us but ask teachers and parents. They do. Teachers use it on parents all the time (“Johnny never does his homework; is there any adult who supervises him after school hours?”). Parents have also learnt to use it “Go to your room and think about how you would feel if your brother turned into a pig when you called him a pig.”

Since I learnt from the best (my mum tried something similar to the latter example on me. I was 7. It worked. Now, I will try to guilt trip you into meditating more on why you need to meditate more. This should mark the last post on the subject-for now.

1.      If you don’t meditate, you have no delight in the law of the Lord. You do NOT love the Lord and if you do not love Him, my brother, you have no part in Him. If you have no part in Him, I just feel awfully sorry for you. There is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth…whoa! I’m getting ahead of myself. The gnashing of teeth is best saved for last :-)

(Psalm 1:2 [KJV])

But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

2.      If you do not meditate on the scriptures, the meditations of your heart are NOT acceptable before God. Really. Your mind isn’t a vacuum; you are almost always meditating on something. If that something isn’t the Bible, what is it? The devil’s thoughts? English Premiership? Money? Whatever it is, your meditations are not acceptable before God.

(Psalm 19:14 [KJV])

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

3.      If you do not meditate on scripture, you have NO respect for God. That is such a shame. After He went and sent His Son to die for you and all, you can’t even spare a moment every day to dwell on His thoughts. How awful! How ungrateful! How unkind! Shall I go on?

(Psalm 119:15 [KJV])

I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.

For those who intend to comment and blast me to smithereens for taking the Bible out of context, read this first. Thank you very much. 

 

My question for you

Have you ever being ‘guilt tripped’ into doing something ‘righteous’? Did it work? Do you think that is the way to go? Do you guilt trip people into doing something ‘godly’?