Isaiah 61:1-2, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me, To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.” (KJV)
Maybe you feel uncomfortable around “attention seeking” Christians focused on themselves, the desires of their flesh, and are a distraction to your spiritual Christian growth. You are focused on all that Isaiah penned in the above quoted Holy Scripture, and feel unpleasantly anxious around them. Attention seeking Christians are religious, maybe not spiritual.
Christians have Holy Spirit but more than not, a carnal Christian is a spiritual babe who can only be fed milk, and not solid spiritual food. Why? Paul, the disciple of Christ at 1 Corinthians 3:2 penned, ” I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.” Paul is addressing a divided and spiritually immature church, comparing them to infants who aren’t ready for deeper teachings. In Hebrews 5:12-14 the Lord rebukes a struggling congregation, noting that although they had been believers long enough to be teachers, they still needed “milk, not solid food,” remaining unskilled in deep spiritual understanding.
In other words, not many in the church are actually preaching the “good news” outside of the church building. The church isn’t focused on the teaching at Isaiah 61:1-2 but is focused on the desires of the flesh to maintain church attendance. The mature spiritual Christian might feel perplexed and at a loss on how to move forward and grow. “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3) In order to know God, it is essential to grow in “solid spiritual food ” through much personal Bible study, prayer and reflection. The fruits of the Holy Spirit reflect a spiritual Christians heart and desire to grow.
Galatians 6:2-3, “Share each other’s burdens, and in that way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.” Is the only charitable work we do solely through a church denomination who donates to non-for-profits in a monetary way? There were no church denominations Jesus ever mentioned during His lifetime on earth. Men created the thousands of church denominations, and all are proclaiming a different message.
Holy Spirit is a gift from God. God has a plan for all Christians individually using the gifts of our talents while on earth. Meaning, use your heartfelt Christian love and seek to assist those in need whenever possible even in the smallest way. Reach out and be that good Samaritan. Proclaim the “good news” of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20 “Run from sexual sin! Run away from anyone involved in sexual sin. No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So, you must honor God with your body.” (NLV) Cut the relationship off for the sake of your soul, for the sake of your future, for the sake of your relationship with God. Sinful relationships with unbelievers or believers that are not married and have no intention of marrying are pretty obvious to mature spiritual minded Christians. People can influence you in negative ways. For example, a married Christian acquaintance is an “attention seeker” of the opposite sex. The sin of the flesh is Satan’s focus on all of us and dark spirits all around us are intent on luring Christians into sin. Satan will taunt God with your sin.
What about people who live with constant chaos, or drama all around them, such as a narcissist? Many Christians are narcissistic. Narcissists are controlling to a fault in all of their relationships. Narcissists have deep seated fragile egos and are shallow, lacking empathy, and more than not, live double lives. Everything is going to be around their wants and needs, none of yours. They are the proverbial “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” and appear to be the good guy, until their mask falls, and they realize you figured them out at home where family is abused, or their close friends realize who they are. Narcissists cause divisions among friends, cannot handle any form of criticism, and feel no accountability for their actions. They may not be gossipers but are always backbiters. Once a person in a relationship with a narcissist removes themselves for good reason, it is inevitable the narcissist goes on a smear campaign to damage the reputation of their no longer supply, maybe you. Narcissists are controlling and are controlled by dark spirits. Depending on the translation, the specific words used are slanderers, revilers, whisperers and backbiters, the apostle Paul specifically warned Christians about and against. Romans 1: 30-32
2 Corinthians 6:14, “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?” Share the gospel with unbelievers but don’t compromise taking the things of God out of our life. What about your acquaintances at church who are “attention seeking” with the opposite sex, admit it, and are married? Cut them off.
Always Christian with love at Anne Fisher Foundation. Amen !