Becoming A Vessel Of Honor Rebecca Brown

294 3. Envy. How many times have you envied others, their looks, possessions, or even their positions and functions within the body of Christ? How many times have you talked about or dwelt on other people’s shortcomings to make yourself look better? Write down these instances of sin. 4. Criticalness. Being critical of others allows a root of bitterness and then hatred to spring up within you. Bitterness and hatred will destroy you. Take a hard look at your daily conversations and thoughts. Are you critical of others? You don’t think you have bitterness in your life? Remember, the heart is VERY deceitful. A good measure of bitterness is this: how easily do other people make you angry? How often do you have angry thoughts about someone? Anger is very often a symptom of bitterness. 5. Slander, Have you ever passed on gossip? The Lord hates slander and gossip! How many times have you spoken behind people’s backs about their faults, real or imagined, unnecessarily or without good reason? How often have you assumed you knew what was in someone’s heart? ONLY God knows our hearts! I have been amazed at the willingness of Christians to accept accusations against me without ever once contacting me to see if there is another side to the story. These Christians are also more than willing to pass on accusations against me without ever making an effort to validate them one way or another. What about the various “Christian research” organizations that give out information on people. Have you ever stopped to wonder if their information is accurate? I know for a fact that those passing out accusations against me have

Appendix A Breaking Up Fallow Ground