HWAY, your post is beautiful and I also can identify with much of your experience.
When I was first saved, there wasn't anything that I wanted to do unpleasing to God and I still feel this way with all of my heart.
But Sister HWAY, I was so rigid that I was scaring people away from Christ Jesus. I'd like to share an experience that I will never forget. And it's a very sad one.
I met a woman at a local mall; we were both 'babysitting' our grandbabies and while sitting and chatting we became good friends. We shared much in common and this woman was as precious as can be.
I invited her to our annual Woman's Luncheon at our summer campmeeting. She met me there and she was so excited about attending. For you see, I had gotten her all hyped up about Jesus and the Church that I attended.
We sat at our table enjoying tea and conversation and she began to share 'innocently' some of her activities for entertainment. And in my rigid mindset, I responded to each of her comments with a scripture and the reasons why I did not participant. (Geesh! Big mistake!)
Mind you, none of what she was doing was 'wrong', it just wasn't (in my mindset) of God. How wrong I was. How very wrong I was. For after a little while, this precious woman looked at her watch and said,
"Oh, I forgot about an appointment that I have today, and I have to leave. Thank you so much for inviting me. I'm so sorry that I have to leave now."
Sister HWAY, I never felt so convicted in all my life. I felt 'bad' and I mean 'bad'. I was so grieved for I knew that I had gone overboard...way overboard with my self-righteousness. Ummmm, my choice of activities versus hers and anothers. The thing is, I had no activities in my life.
This precious woman was a 'victim' of my rigid personality and it was not Jesus. Sadder, is that this woman missed a very important message from that woman's conference that my Pastor's wife ministered to the women for their marriages. And in our prior conversations, this woman shared she was married and loved her husband. They just needed ministry and prayer. And my Pastor's message was just the one she needed.
I not only lost a dear friend, but I lost a soul. And I will always regret this for as long as I live.
Ever since then, I had to realize that my rigid mindset was not Bible. It simply wasn't. It was too far overboard and I realized why people were not open to what I had to share about Jesus.
Mind you, we are to adhere to God's word, to be yielded and obedient. That's a given and it will always be so.
But somethings we have taken to extremes. We have called people sinners when they were not. We have called people disobedient to God's word, when in actuality, they were more obedient to the Lord than we were. Hey, I know I'm speaking the truth here. Many of us are very much like the 'Scribes, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees (sp?) that Jesus had to offend rebuke for their rigidness. They still had other sins, yet 'lorded' themselves over those who did not yield to the law as they felt others should. They rebuked Jesus for healing a man on the Sabbath, yet Jesus had to rebuke them for being 'blind and rigid' to the fact that Jesus was still doing the work of God.
This is not about a Christmas tree, or an Easter celebration and ones reasons or decisions to celebrate or not to celebrate. It's about giving God the full Glory in all that we say and do.
I had to realize that each day I could not afford to lose another person, because I was so 'perfect.' I'm not saying that we are to compromise our righteousness...far be it from that. We are strive for it and to be in right standing with God each moment we live.
And I can also attest that for each 'perfect' thing we aspire to, there will always be an imperfect area as well. Therefore, we cannot 'Lord' over each other our 'righteous' choices over anothers and call them less Godly. Neither can we be condesending in our attitudes towards one another with comments which suggest one is weaker than the other or better. That's in itsself cancels out the good works that one boasts of him/herself.
HWAY,
there is indeed an importance for being rigid in our Faith, for we can't just do any and everything we want. We are to rebuke, take authority over and control our flesh. Our rigid stance is powerful against satan and especially when we're in intercessory prayer, fasting and just plain living for Christ....blocking out distractions, etc.
But when it comes to minor things such as Christimas, Easter, even Paul says not to waste time arguing over such for this is not the issue that really matters...what truly matters is winning souls to Jesus Christ and allowing the Holy Spirit to rule, not man.
There will always be something that we do or don't do for the sake of righteousness. Yet, we cannot call ourselves higher than another spiritually, that's pride of one's self.
I don't wear make-up on a daily basis, yet does that make me more spiritual and Christ-like over one who does? No...
I don't go to movies, does that make me more or better? No
In love, I can only say that so what if one chooses not to do a certain thing, yet in love it doesn't make one better and it never will.
HWAY, I thank God for you. I thank you for reminding me to keep my perspectives in love. Because Shimmie can get rigid...but there's a time and a place for it.
HWAY, I pray God's loving peace over you, for you do have a heart for God and His holiness. I believe that the Holy Spirit has lead you out as God did Abraham to establish His Covenant with you, in liberty and in righteousness. You will know the boundaries God has given you.
Love and blessings to you and to everyone... :blowkiss:
post in it from way back. But it didn't show how / who it got bumped up. Let alone 'Resurrected'..... 
same
But still, who 'bumped' the thread? 
