The gift of prophecy?

Way back when, as a sophomore in college, preparing to return home for summer break, a fellow where I worked insisted when I came back to school in the fall, we were going out.  Not hardly.  In the first place, I didn't like the guy.  In the second place, we worked in a store several miles away from the school.  We worked till 10:30 PM and the buses stopped running at 8:00 PM.  My ride home (when she could be bothered to work) was a student madly in love with this guy that wanted to date me.  Even if I did like him, which I didn't, I wasn't about to risk my only transportation, no matter how unreliable.  The last night I worked that May, this man repeated his demand that we go out in the fall. I coldly informed him I expected to be engaged when I returned in September.  The truth is I didn't know anyone, had no one in mind, and didn't meet the man I married until July 12th-6 weeks after I stated that I would be engaged!  Is that the gift of prophecy?  Maybe it's just God's wonderful sense of humor.

The truth of the matter is that prophecy is no joke.  Over the years, I've been accused of having a sharp tongue and I suppose I deserve the description, but those with the gift of prophecy are not supposed to be flatterers. My sharpness has become even more noticeable on Facebook.  Some people are VERY thin skinned.  No matter what I say or how I say it, they feel compelled to correct me in an unflattering way. There's also culture conflict.  This is the age of PC, which I most certainly am not.  Most politically correct speech is designed to intimidate and obfuscate.  However, knowing that, it is also wise to pick my battles carefully.

A friend suggested I not engage in posts I happen to disagree with.  And, if the response is nasty, ignore it.  For the most part, I do ignore the nasty responses.  However, when it comes to commenting on something I disagree with, I have to wonder if the Lord wants me to try to gently suggest there may be a better answer.

For example, someone made the comment that conservatives would tear the Pope apart about his stance on global warming.  I asked how the liberals would respond to his stance on abortion and gay marriage.  A man posted that God didn't care who we married and didn't want women to suffer because of unplanned pregnancy.  It's obvious He was speaking for God without ever reading God's Word.  I told him so, after asking him if he'd ever had women weep in his arms because they chose termination and regretted it.  He said I had a cold, rigid dogma and he didn't want to hear it.

We listen to Ravi Zacharias on Sunday mornings before going to church.  For those of you unfamiliar with his name, he is from India.  At the age on 17, hospitalized after a failed suicide attempt, he came to know Jesus as his Savior.  God has used his brilliance mightily since that time.  He's so brilliant, my husband says his logic gives him a headache.  Mr. Zacharias travels the world, speaking and debating on college campuses.  It's not easy to disagree with people who don't want to hear it and he makes his living at it.

Now, to be clear,  the gift of prophecy is somewhat different from prophecy.  Prophecy is foretelling the future.  There were many in the Old Testament.  My point is that they all suffered a great deal for doing what God told them to do.  Ravi Zacharia has suffered a great deal, too.  I doubt that he considers himself a prophet-someone who foretells the future.  To me, he is a foreteller of the truth. That's the gift of prophecy. Someone who warns others if they ignore consequences of not following God's ways and follow their own.

Jesus told the parable of the soils in the New Testament.  One of those soils is hard, trampled down as a path.  Seed that falls on it it carried away by the birds.  There seems to be many people in this country who are "hardened soil."  They don't want to hear what God has to say, can't be bothered to check out what anyone else says about God's Word, just dismiss it summarily.

It would seem that I've been called to work the hard soil.  I don't give up on anyone and I seem attracted to those who disagree with me-some very strongly.  Whether or not they disagree with me is not the point.  The problem is that few to none can show me where I'm wrong in my beliefs about God and and His Word.  I would welcome anyone who can teach me instead of refuting me out of superstition, tradition, anger, or ignorance. Anyone who disagrees with me has every right to do so.  AND VICE VERSA.

Going back to whether or not I should say something, I need to be careful that I am not dogmatic or belligerent, but obedient.  If I believe the Lord would have me suggest an alternative view, I need to obey.  If I disagree only because I'm wired to be a conflict thinker, there is going to be unnecessary conflict. By the same token, changing someone's mind or lifestyle is not my job.  That's God's.  My job is to be the messenger, the ambassador.  He does the changing.

What most people don't realize is my disagreement with their beliefs has two underlying reasons and neither have anything to do with me.  First, I believe God should be worshipped and adored.  He is worthy of that at the very least.  We should also be grateful.  He's given us so much more than we deserve.  Even better, He's not given us what we really deserve.  Secondly, those who are living an in-your-face defiance and expecting God to approve are doing themselves so much damage.  Their relationship with the God of the universe is either non-existent or damaged.  Who wants that for themselves or anyone else?  The Bible says God is not willing for anyone to perish, but for all to come to repentance.  That's my desire, too.