Satan: The Accuser of the Brethren. Do We Act Like Him?

The store is small. The windows are dirty. I can smell sawdust and paint thinner in the air. Aligning every wall is a masterpiece of wood and paint depicting a rugged outdoor scene. Elaborate to say the least.

The owner emerges from a back room and introduces himself. He is about 5’9″ with a small frame and gray hair. The whiskers on his face lead me to believe he focuses more on his work than his personal care. His clothing is worn and covered in splats of paint in every color imaginable. His finger dons the color on the paint brush in his hand.

We engage in casual conversation and my husband and I compliment him on his talent. When my husband mentions Jesus the man begins a tirade on how wrong Christians are, how he won’t attend church because of all the self righteous Christians that are there.

He uses the terminology “they”. But,  then proudly proclaims how he teaches the Bible to the lost and less fortunate — you know the ones the church don’t want. There was anger in his voice and fire in his eyes. His rant lasted for what seemed forever.

I kept praying under my breath for God to give me strength and wisdom. And you know what — He did. He helped me remain silent even though the conversation felt more like an attack than sharing between acquaintances.

As we left he flashed a grin of satisfaction. One that left me wondering what he was so satisfied about. A smug look on his face that seemed to say, I got you this time.

But, God had not only silenced me he had protected me from the darts of the enemy. I was not hurt. I was only confused about why someone, who claimed to be my brother in Christ, would accuse my husband and I of things we had not done. I wondered why he felt the need to give us an old fashioned tongue lashing in the name of Jesus.

As I prayed about this for several weeks God revealed what I believe to be the answer. He, the man in the store, was an accuser of the brethren, maybe a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He might have been satisfied because he may have felt he had put us in our place or taken us down a notch or two. But, because God was with us, his accusations held no weight. His demeanor only revealed his lack of love for God’s people.

Do you know someone who claims to be a Christian but has an unloving attitude toward others, especially Christians? Maybe that person is you. None of us should be deceived into thinking God works in all our lives in the very same way. And we are all in a different place spiritually. But, none of us should examine our brothers and sisters lives for the sake of pointing out faults.

Love is patient. Love is kind. The type of love that Jesus has sees beyond a long list of sins for which someone is guilty. Jesus’s love is flavored with forgiveness and compassion not anger and finger pointing. What we say reveals more about the condition of our heart than it does the condition of another’s life.

So lets tread prayerfully and lovingly when examining the life of another. Because the world will know whether we truly belong to Jesus by the love or lack of love we have for others.

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

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