"My point was that we should do what we know to be right because it is right and not oppose the right because of something that happened to us when we were children. I went through the same things that you described. But just as I decided to put away my resentments for things my father did, I decided a long time ago to put away the resentments against people in the church who did wrong and concentrate on what is right and true." Praise the Lord !

I love hearing these stories of forgiveness & healing. This is the work of God.

olger

Is it forgiveness or is it stubborness?

Not necessarily, no. They would be wonderful things for everybody to do, but people shouldn't do them if doing those things makes someone feel angry or resentful. For instance, if a person just hates Ellen White and can't stand reading anything by her, it shows that they are not ready to read her, and therefore they would be better off dealing first with the underlying reason for their anger and resentment. Perhaps they have a misunderstanding about Ellen White's writings. Perhaps they think of her writings as something that stands in their way of having fun or of being free. Similarly, if attending an SDA church makes somone angry, they need to seek God and take care of their anger problem, because going to church under those conditions can only make them more resentful. (I have known people before who when they went to an SDA church, their mind would just fill up with angry thoughts and feelings toward everyone they saw, even toward those they'd never met before.) It is the same with reading the Bible: if we don't read the Bible in the correct frame of mind-- that is, in a teachable spirit and with a desire for the Holy Spirit to impress our thinking-- reading it can do us more harm than good.

Except for obeying God's moral law, it's impossible for us to know for certain what is right for anyone else. In my statement about doing what is right, I did not have in mind anything specific that applies to everyone, except, as I say, obeying God's moral law. In many instances, what is right depends on where a person is in their walk with Christ. God, of course, judges us according to our knowledge of truth and our privileges.

I like the following statements and believe they apply equally well to everyone irrespective of their circumstances. Paul said, "Let every person be persuaded in his own mind." That is because God only accepts intelligent worship and obedience that result from freedom of choice. Also: "Whatsoever does not proceed from faith is sin." When we act apart from our faith in Christ, that is, apart from our Scripture-informed convictions, we sin.