Tactics by Gregory Koukl Chapter 3 - Getting in the Driver's Seat: The Columbo Tactic

Are you ready? Have you have finally gotten to the point in your relationship with God that you want to share it with others? Do these quotes represent you?

• "I am ready and willing to defend my faith to others."
• "I know that I have THE Truth and THE Way. Not a truth, but THE TRUTH!"
• "I will not be ashamed, I will not be intimidated and I will not get angry but will instead share my faith proudly with others and communicate with others the Truth!"

You are ready, and the opportunity presents itself. Someone says "I don't believe in God. There is simply no proof" or "Who are you to say that Christianity is better than other religions? Jesus just taught about love, just like every other religion! Who are you to tell everybody how they should live and what they should believe?" and you completely shut down. Your mind either goes blank or 10 different ways to defend your faith run through your head at once and you can't grab any of them. Just like that, your window of opportunity has passed and you are left shaking your head. Why did the conversation pass you by?

I am sure there are several reasons. The first may be that you have a window of about 10 seconds to engage the question before it vanishes. You miss the window, and poof it's gone! Secondly, you may not speak because you are afraid that you might lose a friend or appear too extreme. Lastly, you are looking at the opportunity in the wrong way. You feel the need to defend your faith and that can be intimidating, playing defense. The great news is that you do not have to defend your faith. That is the simplicity of the Columbo Tactic in this chapter.

In the show Columbo, the detective that the show was named after had a method of operating that was very different. He would walk in looking unprepared, sloppy and unassuming. He would look at the scene, take it all in and then ask a question. He never posed the question in a threatening way, but instead as a way to get clarification. He sometimes would even ask permission, "Do you mind if I ask you a question?" Then he would listen to the reply, which would generally lead to his asking another question.

Mr. Koukl says that you can, "go on the offensive in an inoffensive way by using carefully selected questions to productively advance the conversation."  Asking questions serves several purposes. It displays interest in the person speaking, allowing them to feel cared about. It also educates you on the other person's beliefs. Finally, questions allow you to stay on the offensive, sitting in the driver's seat of a conversation. If you have not stated your own beliefs, you have nothing to defend. The pressure for you is nonexistent and you can enjoy a relaxed conversation while steering it in the direction you want it to go in.

The best question is, "What do you mean by that?" or a variation thereof. It is an open-ended question that engages the person in an interactive way. It helps them clarify their point of view. It will make them spell out their objections instead of allowing them to use popular slogans, repeating what they have heard others say or staying vague in their beliefs. It may even surprise you how many people answer the question "What do you mean by that?" with a blank stare because they do not even know why they believe as they do.

Think of the first statement I used earlier, "I don't believe in God. There is simply no proof." The first question could be clarification of what they mean by God. Do they mean they don't believe in some white bearded old man sitting in space on a giant throne? Good, me neither! Do they mean that they don't believe in a personal God but instead in a force like nature, or are they purely atheistic? That may be pertinent information to know.

Now that you have clarified what they mean by God, you can advance the conversation while staying in the drivers seat by asking another question. The follow-up question could be to find out what type of proof they need. Will they accept historical, scientific or philosophical proof? Can the proof be beyond a reasonable doubt or must it be absolute? You see, the entire time you are having them state what they believe and you have not yet said anything about your own belief.

The second statment, "Who are you to say that Christianity is better than other religions? Jesus just taught about love, just like every other religion! Who are you to tell everybody how they should live and what they should believe?" could give us pause also. So we could start by asking about the other religions that they have studied. So in your studies, you have found that all religions are alike? followed by Why are the similarities more important than the differences? Isn't telling people to love each other telling them how they should live and what they should believe? Can you see how these questions set them up for conversation without them getting angry? Instead, the cause the conversation to continue and you have not had to argue your case at all!

That is why you must never be afraid to ask questions. Questions will force the people you are conversing with to think very carefully about what they mean. That will give you time to think and the ability to see openings when they present themselves. Remember, you are not having the conversation to win them to Christ. You are just looking for a rock to put in their shoe. You want to make them think. Argument does not bring people to Christ, encountering the Holy Spirit does. You are just creating a God-sized hole in their way of thinking for the Holy Spirit to fill-in later.

Tactics by Gregory Koukl Chapter 2: Reservations

"There are two things you don't talk about, religion and politics!" Does that sound familiar? Religion for some time has been considered a taboo subject. So when a book encourages you to have religious discussions, you probably get nervous. "How can I possibly discuss my faith, especially with non-believers, without it turning into a heated dispute?" Mr Koukl addresses just that question in Chapter 2, and he goes further than simply saying we should discuss it. He encourages that we should argue for our faith. Scary, huh!!!

Let's start by clarifying what the word argue mean? Is it two people yelling at each other back and forth, getting angrier and angrier as the discussion continues to escalate? No, argue is to attempt persuading others with reason and evidence. An argument sounds like a positive experience. A heated argument, however, is the last thing you want. If you get angry and raise your voice, cut someone off in mid-sentence or try to bully/intimidate them you lose! You give the appearance of using power instead of persuasion. It is the best way to appear ignorant on the issue. Plus it is a showing of bad manners, which is hardly Christ-like.

On the flip side, what if you stay calm as a cucumber and the other person gets angry and defensive? Once again, you lose! You should always try to keep the conversation cordial by being kind, patient and gentle. What if you express your ideas in that fashion and it still enrages people? You now know that it is your beliefs and ideas, not your attitude or behavior that bothers them.

In live you must never forget, YOU are a representative of Christ and you need to always display that. You are to love your neighbor as yourself. That means that you are to be compassionate, respectful and caring to those around you. Treat them how you want them to treat you whether they do or not. You also are to love God with your whole heart. If you have that kind of love for him, why would you not share Him? You bore people to death telling them about your children, so why do you fear discussing Christ?

You may not be able to handle someone challenging your beliefs without getting hostile. Maybe you fear enraging others. Remember, that is on them if you argue with as long as you use patience, care and respect when in discussions with others. Finally, you may be afraid that differing opinions may destroy the unity of the church. 2 Timothy chapter 2 tells you to teach others and in 2 Timothy chapter 4:2-5 we are told to:

"Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry."

Scripture tells you to correct, rebuke and encourage using sound doctrine by doing the work of an evangelist and performing the duties of ministry. This requires you to have conversations and discussions with both believers and non-believers. You cannot know truth without legitimate conversation, in which you treat others with civility and don't take what they say personally.

Here is why you should argue. Your views must be challenged if you are to develop strong faith. Without discussion and debate your faith stays weak and shallow. Argument is vital to help you distinguish between truth and error, friend from foe, positive from negative and right from wrong. The author states, "The ability to argue well is vital for clear thinking. That's why arguments are good things. Arguing is a virtue because it helps us to determine what is true and discard what is false." 

How can we love God with all of our mind as Jesus instructed us to in Mark 12:30 if we never engage our mind? Your mind is  best exercised when you dispute your claims with those who have opposing beliefs. Your faith grow stronger through arguments and sometimes they can even be effective!

In Acts 17: 2-3, Paul reasoned with non-believers for 3 Sabbaths while he explained and gave evidence for his beliefs. He did not sway them all, but the Bible says that "some of them were persuaded" (Acts 17:4). You should not expect everyone to change. In John 10:27-28 Jesus says that His sheep hear and follow. This means that there will be some who don't respond to the Truth.

In fact, you may never change anyone. If they don't respond, do not take it personally! It is not on you to change people. That is the work of God. You can neither love nor argue someone to Christ on your own. Without the work of the Spirit, there can be no conversion. Only through the power of God can the gospel transform someone. So if it is not on you to change others, why waste your time? What should your goal be?

You are to be faithful to God, and He tells you to minister and evangelize. Your goal may be to introduce a question or two for the other person to think about. Mr. Koukl says, "My aim is never to win someone to Christ. All I want to do is put a stone in some one's shoe. I want to give them something to think about." Everyone has their calling. You may be the one to harvest You may be a gardener, not a harvester. It is okay to sow, even if you do not reap. Without the seed sown (rock in their shoe) their would be no fruit to harvest.

So I would encourage you to sow some seed today. You may not harvest the seed, but it will never grow to fruition if it isn't planted. See you next week when we will examine Chapter 3 and begin examining methods of sowing the seed!

Could Jesus Find a Disciple part 1 The offer

Matthew 4:18-21 -  "As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him."

Now picture yourself at work. Imagine that you are the billing specialist for your family's business. It has been in the family for several generations You get to work with your dad, several uncles and your brother. You are at your desk, typing away on your computer one day. There are some forms that you have to get done if you want to get paid for the work that has been done in front of you. As you are typing, some guy who you have never seen walks up to your desk and peers down at you. He has long, curlyl hair and a full beard. He looks to be of middle Eastern descent, if you were to guess. He looks quite dirty and sweaty, as if he has been walking for several hours in the heat.

As you look up at him, he calmly speaks to you with a voice that you can tell is used to being listened to, "Get up from your computer, leave your source of livelihood and follow me. You are used to billing others. I will have you helping others."

He then turns around and begins to walk away in a manner that makes you realize that he expects you to follow. If you are most, if not all of us, you would simply sit there at your desk. You will not walk out of your job without some guarantee that you will get paid at least as well if not better than you already are. Plus, you do not know this man's company, or if he is even employed. He sure didn't look employed, he looked transient. Come to think of it, you may have wondered if he is even sane. Now the questions begin to swirl around in your head.

Is he crazy? Where did he come from? Why did he talk to me? How did he know me? Why me and not someone with a college education? What does he mean "help others"?  What business is he with? How much does it pay? What are the benefits offered, the job perks?

He could just have walked in and spoke to the first person that he saw. After all, you don't know him.  You are pretty good at your job, but it is a small family owned business. You are by no means anyone special. You only have a 10th grade education, because you didn't need any more than that to work for your dad. You have not even put out any applications or resumes with anyone.

It does not take you too long to form your action, which is none. I am going to stay right here behind this desk like I have for the past 10 years. I have a mortage, car payment and utilities to pay and I am comfortable where I am. I even have a paid vacation coming up. I have health and dental insurance and a job that I am already trained for and good at. I am happy, working in the family business. Why would I ever leave?

He turns back around and looks at you one last time, "Let's go" he says. You just look at him and laugh. "I am going no where today, brother. I am happy where I am. I have great benefits, I work with people who appreciate me and our customers love us. You have not even told me what I will make if I go to work for you."

He chuckles, "Follow me and you will see." With that, he is gone out the door, leaving you to stare after him. You look around at your uncle, who is also in the office. He shrugs his shoulders, "That was crazy," he says as he turns back to his computer.

For most of us, that is where the story would end. You now have a story to tell your friends and family the next time that you see them. You would never know what is offered, because you would never go out the door and ask. Or would you? Would you at least go out the door and see what the job description is? Would you find out the salary and the benefits of the job?  Did his assured manner pique your interest?

If so, part 2 of this blog will look at the job description and what following that man actually pays.

Countries

This is a list of countries that have visited the Spiritual Spackle site, and I will add more as they visit. I am amazed at the different places that have visited to read about everything from the power of the Holy Spirit to Christ's Grace to Apologetics to the dangers of addiction and ways to overcome it. This site is my outreach to those who suffer from the consequences of life in this world, whether it is childhood abuse, addiction, grief and loss, anger, bad relationships, depression and other things that are thrown at us to separate us from Christ. I also look to build upon my faith and strengthen not only mine but those who read. Only the Holy Spirit will suffice in healing us and instilling life-changing hope. Everything else is only temporary!

1. Albania 
2. Algeria
3. American Samoa
4. Antigua and Barbuda
5. Argentina
6. Armenia
7. Aruba
8. Australia
9. Austria
10. Azerbaijan
11. Bahamas
12. Bahrain
13. Bangladesh
14. Barbados
15. Belgium
16. Bermuda
17. Botswana
18. Brazil
19. Bulgaria
20. Cambodia
21. Canada
22. Chile
23. China
24. Colombia
25. Congo [DRC]
26. Costa Rica
27. Cyprus
28. Czech Republic
29. Damascus
30. Denmark
31. Dominica
32. Dominican Republic
33. Ecuador
34. Egypt
35. El Salvador
36. Estonia
37. Fiji
38. Finland
39. France
40. Gabon
41. Georgia
42. Germany
43. Ghana
44. Greece
45. Guam
46. Guatemala 
47. Guyana
48. Haiti
49. Honduras
50. Hong Kong
51. Hungary
52. Iceland
53. India
54. Indonesia
55. Iran
56. Iraq
57. Ireland
58. Isle of Man
59. Israel
60. Italy
61. Jamaica
62. Japan
63. Jordan
64. Kazakhstan
65. Kenya
66. Latvia
67. Lebanon
68. Lesotho
69. Lithuania
70. Luxembourg
71. Macedonia (FYROM)
72. Malawi
73. Malaysia
74. Maldives
75. Malta
76. Mauritius
77. Mexico
78. Micronesia
79. Moldova
80. Montenegro
81. Namibia
82. Nepal
83. Netherlands
84. New Zealand
85. Nigeria
86. Norway
87. Pakistan
88. Palestine
89. Panama
90. Papua New Guinea
91. Peru
92. Philippines
93. Poland
94. Portugal
95. Puerto Rico
96. Romania
97. Russia
98. Saudi Arabia
99. Serbia
100. Seychelles
101. Singapore
102. Slovakia
103. Slovenia
104. South Africa
105. South Korea
106. Spain
107. Sri Lanka
108. Swaziland
109. Sweden
110. Switzerland
111. Taiwan
112. Tanzania
113. Thailand
114. Trinidad and Tabago
115. Tunisia
116. Turkey
117. Turks and Caicos Islands
118. Uganda
119. Ukraine
120. United Arab Emirates
121. United Kingdom
122. United States
123. Uruguay
124. Venezuela
125. Vietnam
126. Zambia
127. Zimbabwe

Truth Project Week One

The Truth Project this week looks at what is truth and introduces us to a new word (read that Truth Project created Latin) that the lesson calls veritology, or the "study of truth." Dr. Tackett shows us what we will be studying over the course of the Truth Project, which ranges from God to Man, Truth to Social Order and a lot in between.

There are several questions that are asked during the course of this lesson that really stuck out to me. The first question was, "What is Truth." His answer for this was from an 1828 copy of Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language that defined truth as "Conformity to fact or reality; exact accordance with that which is, or has been, or shall be. We rely upon the truth of the scriptural prophecies."

Wow, right there in Webster's Dictionary we are told that Truth is found through reliance on the scriptural prophecies. That is a huge statement, and one that assuredly would not go over in today's touchy, feely mainstream. It looks at scripture, which might leave some people out. It even looks at Biblical scripture, which not only leaves out atheists and agnostics but also those who do not use the Bible. That means that not only are some people left out, but some people are wrong. Acknowledging that fact makes some people mad (mostly those who are left out and/or are wrong).

I am sorry, but life leaves some people out. Some of us are right, and some of us are wrong. Case in point, I am an Illinois fan that lives in Missouri. I am surrounded by Mizzou fans who are as proud of their team as I am of the Illini. We both want our teams to win when they play each other. Last year I stated proudly, as I always do, that the Illini would win the Battle of the Border. My friends argued that Missouri would win it. No matter how much faith each of us had in our position, one of us was wrong. In the end, even though we both used statistics and history to validate our claims and postulate them as facts, one of us was wrong (Sadly enough, it was I who was wrong last year).

The next question I liked was "How does man react to truth?" The Bible gives us numerous scriptures, such as 2 Timothy 4:3-4, "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."

It is becoming less and less popular to be Christian. We go off to school and are taught by a lot of the professors in the secular institutions that evolution is a fact, and only someone uneducated would believe in God. Even worse, we have those who profess to be Christian who do not teach fundamentally sound doctrine. They take parts of what Jesus said and use it out of context in order to gain followers, or to get more money into their coffers. I think of many of the evangelists that I see on television, or those who teach that God loves us just as we are and is happy with us even if we continue to sin.

The Bible warns us of these people. In fact, the Bible states that man will suppress the truth (Romans 1:18), distort the truth (Acts 20:30), reject the truth to follow evil (Romans 2:9) and even exchange the truth for a lie (Romans 1:25). This tends to be the popular choice, to live a lie even when we know the truth. There is a battle that is being fought constantly today. The Truth Project refers to it as the cosmic battle.

The cosmic battle is the ongoing fight between God and Satan, the truth versus the lie, reality versus illusion. There is a battle of worldviews that is erupting in our culture, and we need to be more than evangelists and ministers. We need to be ambassadors of the message. Think of us as the public relations department for Jesus. Are we living in a way that brings people to God or are we polarizing people because our works do not match our words? Do we follow the truth, or do we live a watered down version of the truth.

Even a half-truth is a lie, and lies are from Satan. The Bible clearly tells us this in John 8:44, "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." Are we living as children of God, or does the way we live our lives indicate that we are living as children of Satan. So we need to live our lives by not lying. We need to live our lives by telling the truth. So, what is truth?

Ravi Zacharias says that the single most important question that we can ask ourselves is what is truth.  Zacharias defines it as, "That which affirms prepositionally the nature of reality as it is." R.C. Sproul defines truth as, "That which corresponds to reality as perceived by God, because God's perception of reality is never distorted." As defined early, truth is not subjective, but objective. Just because I believed that my team would win did not make it so. If you say that the sky is blue and I say that it is yellow, one of us is surely right and the other is wrong. If you say that there is no God, and I say that there is........one of us is wrong and the other right. I know that God exists, period. I can prove this fundamentally, historically, philosophically, scripturally as well as logically.
The final question that is asked in Week 1 is this, "Do you really believe that what you believe is really real?" If you do believe that it is real, can you intelligently defend your beliefs? Do you have the knowledge to defend your position and the ability to do so civilly and intelligently?

Even more importantly, if we do believe it to be true, than we would follow the truth that Christ laid out for us. So if what God tells us is the truth, why do we shy away from it? Most of us would argue that we do not, and that we follow God's commands. If that is true, does your life truly reflect that you follow God's commands? Have you allowed your faith to become watered down? Do you treat the word of God as your guide book, or do you constantly look for loop holes so that you can do as you please and feel that you get away with it? Do you listen to the authors and preachers/pastors who tell you what you want to hear and not what the scriptures truly say?

Examine your life, and ask yourself this question: Do I really believe that what I believe is really real, and do my actions reflect that what I believe is real really matters?

The Truth Project Introduction

I am starting to attend a small group called the Truth Project at my church on Wednesday nights. It was created by Focus on the Family. They describe the series as follows:

"What is Focus on the Family's The Truth Project^®?

In a recent study, the Barna Research Group revealed a stunning statistic that continues to reverberate throughout the evangelical world. Only 9 percent of professing Christians have a biblical worldview.

Because of this, today's believers live very similarly to non-believers. A personal sense of significance is rarely experienced, we spend our money and time on things that fail to satisfy and we begin to wonder what life's ultimate purpose really is. We are, in short, losing our bearings as a people and a nation.

To counter this slide within the body of Christ, we are launching one of the most ambitious and powerful projects in the history of our ministry—Focus on the Family's The Truth Project.

The Truth Project is a DVD-based small group curriculum comprised of 13 one-hour lessons taught by Dr. Del Tackett. This home study is the starting point for looking at life from a biblical perspective. Each lesson discusses in great detail the relevance and importance of living the Christian worldview in daily life.

We believe this one project represents the possibility for exponential change within the body of Christ, as we expect that thousands will be transformed by this curriculum. As it has been throughout history, God continues to call ordinary people to make an eternal difference in our world.
 
We invite you to be a part of this cultural change by participating in or leading a small group of your own. Contact us to learn how you can get involved in Focus on the Family's The Truth Project!"

I am excited to begin this small group, and as each week passes I will let you know the things that really stuck out to me and what I have gotten out of the group. I feel that we should all have the ability to defend our beliefs while not being confrontational, and this series is possibly a great way to do that. I once had a professor define intelligence to me this way, "An intelligent person is someone who can equally debate both sides of the discussion."

I hope to learn not only the Christian perspective better in this small group, but the secular world's view too. In learning better what the secular and Christian worldviews are, I can then better defend my position by learning about both. I also hope to see ways to improve upon how I am currently living so that I can become a better father, husband, friend and counselor. I hope you will enjoy reading my blog on The Truth Project so that you can take the 13 Week journey with me.

Pride Goeth Before a Fall

Pride is Biblically one of those things that we are to not have. It is a character trait that is not to be admired. In the King James version of the Bible it states, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

I quote the King James Version because it is very fitting that the King James version would give this warning to someone that is also referred to as King James. To others he is known as simply LeBron James. Today I would like to personally thank LeBron and the Miami Heat for reminding me that pride does not lead us to be successful.  If anything, pride sets us up for destruction.

Last night, in game 6 of the NBA finals, the Dallas Mavericks led by Dirk Nowitzki defeated the Miami Heat's trio of all stars led by LeBron. I was glad to see Dallas win after the way that Miami and LeBron celebrated his signing with them at the beginning of this basketball season.

"Not one, not two, not three, not four," James said. And he wasn't finished.  "Not five, not six, not seven." He trumpeted from stage as he guaranteed multiple championships. I believed him, even though I am a Chicago Bulls fan. I thought that the combination of LeBron, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh would be unstoppable. I would have never predicted that they would not have the best record in the league (they had the third best) or that they would not win the NBA championship. He and I both seemed to forget the warning the Bible gives us multiple times:

Obadiah 1:3 "The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’"


Isaiah 23:9 "The LORD Almighty planned it, to bring low the pride of all glory and to humble all who are renowned on the earth."


1 Corinthians 13:4 "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud."


Even in the Biblical book bearing the last name of LeBron, James 4:6b states, "God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble," which is actually a quote from Proverbs 3:34.


Pride, boastfulness and haughtiness are all things that we should avoid, or we will find ourselves in trouble with the person who truly counts, God. I do not care if I am poor or if I, like LeBron, were to reach his goal of being a billionaire. I would rather be poor in this life and live in bliss for eternity than store up treasures on Earth to find myself on the wrong side of God. 


This leads us to the question how should I act? James 4:10 says, "Humble yourselves, and He will lift you up" and 1 Peter 5:6 says to, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time." 


This means that we are not the most important thing in the world. We need to get over ourselves and realize that there is only one with true power, and it is not us. If we are humble than God will give us the power to overcome all things. If we are boastful and prideful, then God will not. We should all take a lesson from the first step of recovery, which states that we realize that we are powerless. LeBron seemed to believe that he was all powerful, and thus has alienated some fans and possibly God Himself. 

In the end I thought that maybe LeBron James does get it. His twitter post after the game said, "The Greater Man upstairs know when it's my time. Right now isn't the time."

That sounds like a man who has come to realize that there is a greater power than he. I was happy for LeBron after I read his twitter in the sports news. I was beginning to think that maybe he was the young man who had his head on his shoulders and not in the clouds like I had thought, before the past year had occurred. Then I read his after game interview quote:

"At the end of the day, all the people that were rooting for me to fail ... at the end of the day, tomorrow they have to wake up and have the same life that [they had] before they woke up today. They got the same personal problems they had today. And I'm going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things I want to do."

His pride has once again reared its' ugly head. I only hope that we can take a look at how he has acted and reacted to others and learn a lesson. I know that he is only reacting to what others have said and done, but two rights do not make a wrong. Even though the Bible tells us in what is commonly known as the Golden Rule to do to others as we would have them do us (Matthew 7:12), I would tell us as Christians to go one further and treat others better than you want to be treated.

Remember Matthew 25 says that what we have done to the least of man, we have done to God Himself. When you are wronged by someone you should still treat them with love and respect, for when we stand before God do we want  Him to treat us as we on this world treated others? Do we want Him to treat us as we deserve? I know that I  do not, how about you?