May 2, 2025 • 16 mins
Blogger Melissa Edgington is noticing a trend in Christian circles, especially among Christian women on the internet. Before saying something harsh, self-righteous, or preachy, women will sometimes use the word “gently.” As in “Gently, you’re absolutely delusional.” “Gently, you should completely reevaluate who you are as a person.” “Gently, you’re what’s wrong with the world.” Melissa says it’s the equivalent of standing toe-to-toe with someone and saying the word “gently” before slapping them in the face. Maybe you’ve noticed this trend, too.
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S1 (00:00):
Kurt and Kate mornings. Not just on the radio.
S2 (00:03):
It's a podcast too.
S1 (00:06):
We have a friend who happens to have a blog
with a very cool name. Your mom has a blog.
Com Melissa Edgington. And recently Melissa posted a blog about
this trend in Christian circles.
S2 (00:25):
I know I had never heard it, I think it
would make me laugh, but if someone actually said it
to me. But she has a great point here. We
are accountable for our words.
S1 (00:35):
Life and death is in the power of the tongue.
Read the book of Proverbs. You're going to see all
kinds of verses there on controlling the tongue. What about
James in the New Testament? He talks about the tongue,
you know, lighting being the catalyst for sparking such a
small spark or such a small catalyst. And then you've
got this whole forest that's lit on fire by the tongue,
(00:58):
you know, and that's how we can all identify with that.
You say one thing and then. it blows up. You
wound people, all of that stuff, but probably the most challenging.
And we talked with her about this trend. The most
challenging thing about this trend is, you know, how do
I respond to somebody who obviously wants to hit me
upside the head with a two by four? Let's dive
(01:22):
in to the conversation right here. I was not even aware.
This whole gently thing, this phenomenon in Christian circles, uh,
until I was checking out your blog and I'm like, oh,
maybe we might have some other folks who are not
aware of what is happening. Tell us how this whole
thing works.
S3 (01:40):
Well, it's an issue I'm seeing mainly on social media.
You know how people love to get behind their phone
or behind their keyboard and say things they probably wouldn't
say face to face? Yes. Digital courage.
S1 (01:51):
Yes indeed.
S3 (01:52):
Yes, yes. And I've just noticed that people before they
say something pretty harsh or even cruel sometimes will use
the word gently, or sometimes they'll say in love before
they say it.
S1 (02:07):
Or bless your heart, bless your heart and then slam
you up against the wall.
S3 (02:14):
Yes. Yeah, it kind of feels like the equivalent to
saying gently and then slapping someone in the face.
S1 (02:21):
Yeah, man. Have you ever had that happen to you?
S3 (02:25):
Yes I have. Yeah, I've had a lot of interesting
experiences on the internet. If you have a blog, you know,
people really feel like they can come after you. So.
S1 (02:33):
Okay, so. So wait a minute, wait a minute. Come
on now, Melissa, your blogs are they're Christ centered. They're biblical,
they're winsome. Uh. They're kind. How could anybody have something
negative to say about something you wrote?
S3 (02:48):
That's kind of you to say. Well, you know, just
people love their own opinions, I think.
S2 (02:53):
And and love to be right somehow a lot of times.
S3 (02:58):
Absolutely. And I think that's what is a lot behind
this gently sort of trend is people are prioritizing their
desire to be right over their desire to love the
person that they're talking to.
S1 (03:13):
You know, it's almost it's almost passive aggressive, isn't it?
S3 (03:16):
It kind of is. Yeah. And and it feels like
hijacking a biblical word, you know, in order to justify
what you want to say to someone. And I think
it's dangerous, I, I think that words matter. I think
words are important. And when you take a word like
or the concept of gentleness, which is a fruit of
(03:38):
the spirit, and then you demonstrate the opposite of that,
that is really not a good witness to the world.
S1 (03:46):
Or that's so, so very true. But it's, it's let's
talk about you being a blogger here. And I'm just
really curious because when you've been with us, we've never
really chatted about this before. Um, would you say that
you get uh, mostly you get kind comments, but what's
the percentage of negative comments and what kind of comments
(04:07):
do they leave? For instance, are they picking apart your
theology or how does that work?
S3 (04:13):
I've had some of that. But you know, certain posts
are more controversial than others, and it really depends on
how far they go on the internet. Once you get
past your, your circles, um, of, you know, Christian people
and then it goes out further, then a lot of
times there will be like atheist message boards or something
(04:34):
where they will discuss your post, and then you get
a lot of people coming over to just tell you
that you're what's wrong with the world and things like that.
S1 (04:43):
You are exactly what's wrong with the world. Uh, gently. You're.
What's wrong with the world?
S3 (04:47):
Yes, exactly.
S1 (04:49):
They tell you if you had to off the top
of your head what was maybe one of your most
controversial blogs.
S3 (04:57):
Well that's easy. My, by far my most controversial blog
ever was a blog that I wrote about an actor, um,
who Was seen carrying a Christian book, and a lot
of Christian people were very excited about it and sort
of wanted to claim him as our own. And I
just wrote a post about how we don't want to,
(05:20):
you know, cling to celebrities to try to legitimize, you know,
our faith.
S1 (05:25):
Wow. Okay. So I didn't read that blog, but I
am on this like a rat on a Cheeto. Okay.
I'm tracking with you. So? So go ahead and kind of. Yeah.
Tell us the rest of the story with that.
S3 (05:37):
So with that post, for whatever reason, maybe because there
was a celebrity's name in the title, it just went
all over the internet, and that was one of those
that went to the further reaches where people just had
all kinds of opinions. I've learned that people really don't
like for you to talk about entertainment or celebrities. They, um,
(05:59):
they really care about their entertainment and they're invested in celebrities.
And that's been kind of an interesting thing to learn
in And writing for all these years?
S1 (06:08):
Yeah. See, this is if we actually had a blog. Yeah,
like we'd be in trouble. First of all, we'd be
in trouble because. Well, first of all, nobody very few
people would be reading it. That's number one. We could
be as controversial as we want to be. And nobody
would say a word because nobody's reading it. So that's
not a problem. But, um. Yeah, you have to. And
(06:31):
let's face it, we live in a world where, okay,
how many clicks can I get? How many likes can
I get?
S2 (06:35):
And so people say outrageous things just because of that.
S1 (06:38):
Of course, it's all.
S2 (06:39):
Because you complain and they get. They get money for it. Yeah.
S1 (06:42):
It's premeditated. Right. I got to make sure that I'm, I'm,
you know, talking about something that's going to bring somebody
to my website, click on my video and increase my
numbers on YouTube or whatever the case may be, Instagram,
what have you. But how do you how do you
wrestle with that as a believer? Um, being called by
(07:03):
God to be out there with your with your writing,
I think that you need to be committed to Jesus,
of course, but you need courage. Be bold and courageous,
for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go,
even online.
S3 (07:19):
Yes. It really. I've learned a lot through writing and
just kind of exposing myself to the world, I guess,
on my blog. And I've learned to just think about
how people who might, might be attacking me, or I've
even had people private message me just to say really
terrible things. They aren't even doing it in a public forum.
(07:42):
They're doing it very personally. Um, you know, those people
don't know me. And, you know, I have people in
my life who know me well. And, um, so those
are the voices that I want to listen to and
not just negativity from people who don't know my heart
or where I'm coming from. The frustrating thing about blogging
is that some of the best things I feel that
(08:03):
I've ever been able to put out there, um, you know,
have not gone anywhere. And the things that I don't
feel like are my best ideas or my best writing
are the ones that go all over the world. Yes.
S1 (08:15):
That sounds like our shows, right? Kate. We walk out
of the studio and we're like, wow, that was a
real bomb. And then somebody very kind and they said, oh,
I just needed to hear that for whatever reason. And
then you have a day when you think, oh, I've
got the silver bullet. You know, we're bringing the heat
on this. And then crickets.
S2 (08:30):
Yeah.
S3 (08:31):
It's so interesting how that happens, but you never know
what God is doing. You know, he doesn't always reveal
to you all the ways that he's working. And so
that's an encouragement.
S4 (08:40):
Thank you for taking some time to listen to this
episode of the Kate Mornings podcast. We always welcome a
review with your thoughts and comments, and please feel free
to subscribe and follow us as well.
S1 (08:52):
Well, you know, God's economy is upside down, so think
about this for just a minute. It makes sense. When
I feel weak, he is strong. But when I feel strong,
then I, you know, somehow get in the way of
what God wants to do. That's kind of the way
I look at that.
S3 (09:06):
Exactly.
S1 (09:07):
Because he works through our weaknesses, he works through our humility.
And that's how he keeps us humble. Right, Kate? Some
of the comments, because we get some we get some
texts here, not very many, but we do get some
that that can be, uh, I don't know, kind of painful. Kate,
would you say that's accurate when we see them come through? Yeah. Yeah.
Somebody you're like, oh, well, especially.
S2 (09:27):
If your intention was different. You know, if you intended
one thing and somebody takes something completely different from it,
that's kind of like, oh, I didn't even mean that.
That wasn't even where I was going.
S1 (09:39):
Yeah. Yeah. It's unfortunate.
S3 (09:40):
I totally understand that. That is the world. That's the
world of writing on the internet. What you write is
not necessarily what people read.
S2 (09:47):
Yeah, they'll read one word and react to that word,
and that's not even the topic.
S1 (09:52):
Yeah. Yeah. It's it's like a, uh. I don't know,
it's just a catalyst for them. It's a it's a trigger.
That's the word I'm looking for. It's a trigger for
whatever reason. So do you get to the point where
you're like, well, I just don't think I'm going to
read any comments anymore or check my DMs or what
have you. Do you ever get to that point?
S3 (10:12):
No I don't, I like to be honest about it
and publish all the comments and, you know, let people
have discussions. I just have learned not to argue with
people in comments, I let them. I've already said what
I was going to say, and I let them hash
it out in the comments if they want to.
S1 (10:29):
How should we? How should we respond to people who
might say, well, gently and then slam us? What's the
best response? I think a lot of times we don't
know what to say, and the Bible tells us even
a fool is wise or seems to be wise when
he keeps his mouth shut. We don't want to miss step,
(10:50):
step on a landmine. Say something we shouldn't and so
we don't say anything back to them at all. And
I'm the king of the, uh, the delayed comebacks. Um,
I think of these great comebacks, like ten minutes after
the event itself and I'm like, oh, where were you
when I really needed you? Most of the time I'm
grateful that I didn't do that, honestly. But yes, you know,
(11:12):
how do we respond to somebody like that? Sometimes you
just don't know what to say. So you don't say
anything at all. What's your recommendation for that? How do
you deal with that?
S3 (11:19):
Well, I think, you know, the Bible tells us that
a soft answer turns away wrath. And I think true
gentleness is what's needed on the internet, especially, um, where
we just don't react in, in the ways that maybe
we want to initially, where we just try to show
the love of Christ, even to people who are are
(11:39):
being difficult or who are saying harsh things. Um, you know,
we don't want to be harsh back because we want
to show the gentleness of Christ. The Bible teaches us
that the world will know who we are by the
way we love each other. And so I think that
should be our goal, not just in person, but also
on the internet, when it's easy to just throw out
(12:00):
a hard comment to someone.
S1 (12:02):
Yeah, but if it's if people can see it's you, right?
If you're not anonymous, then you it's not a good
look for you.
S3 (12:09):
Right? Exactly.
S1 (12:10):
Yeah. Let's get back to the celebrities who claimed to
be believers or, you know, we hope and pray that
they are that they are, you know, they're new believers,
but they're placed in a very difficult situation simply because
it seems like we as Christians, um, yes, we are
separate from the world, but we have worldly tendencies. For instance,
(12:34):
we create our own celebrities, which can be problematic. So
you've got that issue with celebrity pastors and Christian music artists, whatever.
So you've got that issue, but then you also have
this issue that you talked about in your controversial blog
about somehow that adds legitimacy to my faith. If somebody
(12:55):
famous has has said, you know, I'm a Christian, and
then we as believers, immediately we run to them. Now
let's just say that they are a believer. Praise God
for that. But they're a new believer. And here we are,
you know, trying to put them up on a pedestal
and they're just taking their baby steps, getting to know
(13:15):
the Lord and all of that. And immediately we thrust
them into this situation where everybody is looking at them
all the all the Christians are. Yay! They're cheering them.
And there are a couple of dangers. Number one, again,
they could be new believers, not mature yet, and they
could be disoriented. They don't have room to grow and
to learn. But then not only that, but maybe they're
(13:36):
not true believers after all. And here we are as believers,
we have made a big deal out of this, had
them on our shows, featured them on our podcast, put
them on our YouTube channel, whatever the case may be,
and we are putting the stamp of approval that they
are believers when in fact they may not be. Shouldn't
we just allow a little bit of time to see
(13:59):
how this shakes out before we do something like that?
S3 (14:02):
I definitely think so. I think that we, you know,
growth is slow. And if you're a Christian, you know
that because you know that the sanctification process never ends.
You know, God's always working on you. But we need
to give people who are even people who are just seeking,
you know, who we can tell are seeking the Lord.
(14:25):
And maybe they are or aren't believers yet, but, um,
we need to give them time to grow and to
learn before we try to make them our heroes.
S1 (14:35):
I agree. All right, guys, Melissa has some wonderful stuff
on her blog and she has some controversial stuff too.
So if you. But but if you comment, be nice. Uh,
all of our people who listen to the show, Melissa,
they're nice. They're kind. I believe that the fruit of
the spirit. Let's just do a review just in case
we all need it. It's love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
(15:02):
real gentleness, and self control. Oh, I'm so glad the
Apostle Paul puts self-control at the end there, aren't you?
S2 (15:11):
Yes, yes.
S1 (15:13):
Uh, I'm just saying, I'm not pointing any fingers. If
I'm pointing fingers, I'm probably pointing them at me. But anyway,
the fruit of the spirit. You know, I pray that
every day on my way in during my commute time,
which is my prayer time, we talk about that, and
I pray that the Lord will produce the fruit of
the spirit in me. Because if we try to produce
these things ourselves, we try to, you know, make everything grow.
(15:35):
You know, ourselves. It's not going to work. It has
to be the overflow of our life with Jesus and
the Holy Spirit at work within us. So position yourself
to be close to Jesus and the fruit of the spirit.
You know, Jesus said, Abide in me and I in you.
And if you abide in me, then you will produce
much fruit. And he also said, this fruit that will last,
(15:56):
which is very interesting. I believe that's John 15. So
I am the vine and you are the branches, all
of that.
S2 (16:02):
Thanks for listening to Kurt and Kate Mornings podcast. Please
take a minute to follow, subscribe and review us. And
no matter where in the world you are, you can
listen to us live from 6 to 9 a.m. weekdays
on the Moody Radio app.
Kurt and Kate mornings. Not just on the radio.
S2 (00:03):
It's a podcast too.
S1 (00:06):
We have a friend who happens to have a blog
with a very cool name. Your mom has a blog.
Com Melissa Edgington. And recently Melissa posted a blog about
this trend in Christian circles.
S2 (00:25):
I know I had never heard it, I think it
would make me laugh, but if someone actually said it
to me. But she has a great point here. We
are accountable for our words.
S1 (00:35):
Life and death is in the power of the tongue.
Read the book of Proverbs. You're going to see all
kinds of verses there on controlling the tongue. What about
James in the New Testament? He talks about the tongue,
you know, lighting being the catalyst for sparking such a
small spark or such a small catalyst. And then you've
got this whole forest that's lit on fire by the tongue,
(00:58):
you know, and that's how we can all identify with that.
You say one thing and then. it blows up. You
wound people, all of that stuff, but probably the most challenging.
And we talked with her about this trend. The most
challenging thing about this trend is, you know, how do
I respond to somebody who obviously wants to hit me
upside the head with a two by four? Let's dive
(01:22):
in to the conversation right here. I was not even aware.
This whole gently thing, this phenomenon in Christian circles, uh,
until I was checking out your blog and I'm like, oh,
maybe we might have some other folks who are not
aware of what is happening. Tell us how this whole
thing works.
S3 (01:40):
Well, it's an issue I'm seeing mainly on social media.
You know how people love to get behind their phone
or behind their keyboard and say things they probably wouldn't
say face to face? Yes. Digital courage.
S1 (01:51):
Yes indeed.
S3 (01:52):
Yes, yes. And I've just noticed that people before they
say something pretty harsh or even cruel sometimes will use
the word gently, or sometimes they'll say in love before
they say it.
S1 (02:07):
Or bless your heart, bless your heart and then slam
you up against the wall.
S3 (02:14):
Yes. Yeah, it kind of feels like the equivalent to
saying gently and then slapping someone in the face.
S1 (02:21):
Yeah, man. Have you ever had that happen to you?
S3 (02:25):
Yes I have. Yeah, I've had a lot of interesting
experiences on the internet. If you have a blog, you know,
people really feel like they can come after you. So.
S1 (02:33):
Okay, so. So wait a minute, wait a minute. Come
on now, Melissa, your blogs are they're Christ centered. They're biblical,
they're winsome. Uh. They're kind. How could anybody have something
negative to say about something you wrote?
S3 (02:48):
That's kind of you to say. Well, you know, just
people love their own opinions, I think.
S2 (02:53):
And and love to be right somehow a lot of times.
S3 (02:58):
Absolutely. And I think that's what is a lot behind
this gently sort of trend is people are prioritizing their
desire to be right over their desire to love the
person that they're talking to.
S1 (03:13):
You know, it's almost it's almost passive aggressive, isn't it?
S3 (03:16):
It kind of is. Yeah. And and it feels like
hijacking a biblical word, you know, in order to justify
what you want to say to someone. And I think
it's dangerous, I, I think that words matter. I think
words are important. And when you take a word like
or the concept of gentleness, which is a fruit of
(03:38):
the spirit, and then you demonstrate the opposite of that,
that is really not a good witness to the world.
S1 (03:46):
Or that's so, so very true. But it's, it's let's
talk about you being a blogger here. And I'm just
really curious because when you've been with us, we've never
really chatted about this before. Um, would you say that
you get uh, mostly you get kind comments, but what's
the percentage of negative comments and what kind of comments
(04:07):
do they leave? For instance, are they picking apart your
theology or how does that work?
S3 (04:13):
I've had some of that. But you know, certain posts
are more controversial than others, and it really depends on
how far they go on the internet. Once you get
past your, your circles, um, of, you know, Christian people
and then it goes out further, then a lot of
times there will be like atheist message boards or something
(04:34):
where they will discuss your post, and then you get
a lot of people coming over to just tell you
that you're what's wrong with the world and things like that.
S1 (04:43):
You are exactly what's wrong with the world. Uh, gently. You're.
What's wrong with the world?
S3 (04:47):
Yes, exactly.
S1 (04:49):
They tell you if you had to off the top
of your head what was maybe one of your most
controversial blogs.
S3 (04:57):
Well that's easy. My, by far my most controversial blog
ever was a blog that I wrote about an actor, um,
who Was seen carrying a Christian book, and a lot
of Christian people were very excited about it and sort
of wanted to claim him as our own. And I
just wrote a post about how we don't want to,
(05:20):
you know, cling to celebrities to try to legitimize, you know,
our faith.
S1 (05:25):
Wow. Okay. So I didn't read that blog, but I
am on this like a rat on a Cheeto. Okay.
I'm tracking with you. So? So go ahead and kind of. Yeah.
Tell us the rest of the story with that.
S3 (05:37):
So with that post, for whatever reason, maybe because there
was a celebrity's name in the title, it just went
all over the internet, and that was one of those
that went to the further reaches where people just had
all kinds of opinions. I've learned that people really don't
like for you to talk about entertainment or celebrities. They, um,
(05:59):
they really care about their entertainment and they're invested in celebrities.
And that's been kind of an interesting thing to learn
in And writing for all these years?
S1 (06:08):
Yeah. See, this is if we actually had a blog. Yeah,
like we'd be in trouble. First of all, we'd be
in trouble because. Well, first of all, nobody very few
people would be reading it. That's number one. We could
be as controversial as we want to be. And nobody
would say a word because nobody's reading it. So that's
not a problem. But, um. Yeah, you have to. And
(06:31):
let's face it, we live in a world where, okay,
how many clicks can I get? How many likes can
I get?
S2 (06:35):
And so people say outrageous things just because of that.
S1 (06:38):
Of course, it's all.
S2 (06:39):
Because you complain and they get. They get money for it. Yeah.
S1 (06:42):
It's premeditated. Right. I got to make sure that I'm, I'm,
you know, talking about something that's going to bring somebody
to my website, click on my video and increase my
numbers on YouTube or whatever the case may be, Instagram,
what have you. But how do you how do you
wrestle with that as a believer? Um, being called by
(07:03):
God to be out there with your with your writing,
I think that you need to be committed to Jesus,
of course, but you need courage. Be bold and courageous,
for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go,
even online.
S3 (07:19):
Yes. It really. I've learned a lot through writing and
just kind of exposing myself to the world, I guess,
on my blog. And I've learned to just think about
how people who might, might be attacking me, or I've
even had people private message me just to say really
terrible things. They aren't even doing it in a public forum.
(07:42):
They're doing it very personally. Um, you know, those people
don't know me. And, you know, I have people in
my life who know me well. And, um, so those
are the voices that I want to listen to and
not just negativity from people who don't know my heart
or where I'm coming from. The frustrating thing about blogging
is that some of the best things I feel that
(08:03):
I've ever been able to put out there, um, you know,
have not gone anywhere. And the things that I don't
feel like are my best ideas or my best writing
are the ones that go all over the world. Yes.
S1 (08:15):
That sounds like our shows, right? Kate. We walk out
of the studio and we're like, wow, that was a
real bomb. And then somebody very kind and they said, oh,
I just needed to hear that for whatever reason. And
then you have a day when you think, oh, I've
got the silver bullet. You know, we're bringing the heat
on this. And then crickets.
S2 (08:30):
Yeah.
S3 (08:31):
It's so interesting how that happens, but you never know
what God is doing. You know, he doesn't always reveal
to you all the ways that he's working. And so
that's an encouragement.
S4 (08:40):
Thank you for taking some time to listen to this
episode of the Kate Mornings podcast. We always welcome a
review with your thoughts and comments, and please feel free
to subscribe and follow us as well.
S1 (08:52):
Well, you know, God's economy is upside down, so think
about this for just a minute. It makes sense. When
I feel weak, he is strong. But when I feel strong,
then I, you know, somehow get in the way of
what God wants to do. That's kind of the way
I look at that.
S3 (09:06):
Exactly.
S1 (09:07):
Because he works through our weaknesses, he works through our humility.
And that's how he keeps us humble. Right, Kate? Some
of the comments, because we get some we get some
texts here, not very many, but we do get some
that that can be, uh, I don't know, kind of painful. Kate,
would you say that's accurate when we see them come through? Yeah. Yeah.
Somebody you're like, oh, well, especially.
S2 (09:27):
If your intention was different. You know, if you intended
one thing and somebody takes something completely different from it,
that's kind of like, oh, I didn't even mean that.
That wasn't even where I was going.
S1 (09:39):
Yeah. Yeah. It's unfortunate.
S3 (09:40):
I totally understand that. That is the world. That's the
world of writing on the internet. What you write is
not necessarily what people read.
S2 (09:47):
Yeah, they'll read one word and react to that word,
and that's not even the topic.
S1 (09:52):
Yeah. Yeah. It's it's like a, uh. I don't know,
it's just a catalyst for them. It's a it's a trigger.
That's the word I'm looking for. It's a trigger for
whatever reason. So do you get to the point where
you're like, well, I just don't think I'm going to
read any comments anymore or check my DMs or what
have you. Do you ever get to that point?
S3 (10:12):
No I don't, I like to be honest about it
and publish all the comments and, you know, let people
have discussions. I just have learned not to argue with
people in comments, I let them. I've already said what
I was going to say, and I let them hash
it out in the comments if they want to.
S1 (10:29):
How should we? How should we respond to people who
might say, well, gently and then slam us? What's the
best response? I think a lot of times we don't
know what to say, and the Bible tells us even
a fool is wise or seems to be wise when
he keeps his mouth shut. We don't want to miss step,
(10:50):
step on a landmine. Say something we shouldn't and so
we don't say anything back to them at all. And
I'm the king of the, uh, the delayed comebacks. Um,
I think of these great comebacks, like ten minutes after
the event itself and I'm like, oh, where were you
when I really needed you? Most of the time I'm
grateful that I didn't do that, honestly. But yes, you know,
(11:12):
how do we respond to somebody like that? Sometimes you
just don't know what to say. So you don't say
anything at all. What's your recommendation for that? How do
you deal with that?
S3 (11:19):
Well, I think, you know, the Bible tells us that
a soft answer turns away wrath. And I think true
gentleness is what's needed on the internet, especially, um, where
we just don't react in, in the ways that maybe
we want to initially, where we just try to show
the love of Christ, even to people who are are
(11:39):
being difficult or who are saying harsh things. Um, you know,
we don't want to be harsh back because we want
to show the gentleness of Christ. The Bible teaches us
that the world will know who we are by the
way we love each other. And so I think that
should be our goal, not just in person, but also
on the internet, when it's easy to just throw out
(12:00):
a hard comment to someone.
S1 (12:02):
Yeah, but if it's if people can see it's you, right?
If you're not anonymous, then you it's not a good
look for you.
S3 (12:09):
Right? Exactly.
S1 (12:10):
Yeah. Let's get back to the celebrities who claimed to
be believers or, you know, we hope and pray that
they are that they are, you know, they're new believers,
but they're placed in a very difficult situation simply because
it seems like we as Christians, um, yes, we are
separate from the world, but we have worldly tendencies. For instance,
(12:34):
we create our own celebrities, which can be problematic. So
you've got that issue with celebrity pastors and Christian music artists, whatever.
So you've got that issue, but then you also have
this issue that you talked about in your controversial blog
about somehow that adds legitimacy to my faith. If somebody
(12:55):
famous has has said, you know, I'm a Christian, and
then we as believers, immediately we run to them. Now
let's just say that they are a believer. Praise God
for that. But they're a new believer. And here we are,
you know, trying to put them up on a pedestal
and they're just taking their baby steps, getting to know
(13:15):
the Lord and all of that. And immediately we thrust
them into this situation where everybody is looking at them
all the all the Christians are. Yay! They're cheering them.
And there are a couple of dangers. Number one, again,
they could be new believers, not mature yet, and they
could be disoriented. They don't have room to grow and
to learn. But then not only that, but maybe they're
(13:36):
not true believers after all. And here we are as believers,
we have made a big deal out of this, had
them on our shows, featured them on our podcast, put
them on our YouTube channel, whatever the case may be,
and we are putting the stamp of approval that they
are believers when in fact they may not be. Shouldn't
we just allow a little bit of time to see
(13:59):
how this shakes out before we do something like that?
S3 (14:02):
I definitely think so. I think that we, you know,
growth is slow. And if you're a Christian, you know
that because you know that the sanctification process never ends.
You know, God's always working on you. But we need
to give people who are even people who are just seeking,
you know, who we can tell are seeking the Lord.
(14:25):
And maybe they are or aren't believers yet, but, um,
we need to give them time to grow and to
learn before we try to make them our heroes.
S1 (14:35):
I agree. All right, guys, Melissa has some wonderful stuff
on her blog and she has some controversial stuff too.
So if you. But but if you comment, be nice. Uh,
all of our people who listen to the show, Melissa,
they're nice. They're kind. I believe that the fruit of
the spirit. Let's just do a review just in case
we all need it. It's love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
(15:02):
real gentleness, and self control. Oh, I'm so glad the
Apostle Paul puts self-control at the end there, aren't you?
S2 (15:11):
Yes, yes.
S1 (15:13):
Uh, I'm just saying, I'm not pointing any fingers. If
I'm pointing fingers, I'm probably pointing them at me. But anyway,
the fruit of the spirit. You know, I pray that
every day on my way in during my commute time,
which is my prayer time, we talk about that, and
I pray that the Lord will produce the fruit of
the spirit in me. Because if we try to produce
these things ourselves, we try to, you know, make everything grow.
(15:35):
You know, ourselves. It's not going to work. It has
to be the overflow of our life with Jesus and
the Holy Spirit at work within us. So position yourself
to be close to Jesus and the fruit of the spirit.
You know, Jesus said, Abide in me and I in you.
And if you abide in me, then you will produce
much fruit. And he also said, this fruit that will last,
(15:56):
which is very interesting. I believe that's John 15. So
I am the vine and you are the branches, all
of that.
S2 (16:02):
Thanks for listening to Kurt and Kate Mornings podcast. Please
take a minute to follow, subscribe and review us. And
no matter where in the world you are, you can
listen to us live from 6 to 9 a.m. weekdays
on the Moody Radio app.
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