Our Duty To Our Fellow Man Is Not To Compel Him, But To Convince Him: The 4th Chapter of Ephesians

   The last verse in Ephesians chapter 4 reads; "And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you". The crux of Christianity rests in the fact that all of us are flawed and in need of redemption. Not a single one of us is perfect. None of us are all knowing or in any manner above reproach. Our first duty to our neighbor and the rest of the world is to quit doing harm.This involves much more than staying out of trouble with the law. It means taming a selfish nature that is quick to ridicule, judge and slander.We are all given to immoral appetites, envy as well as a propensity to get even.
   Our first duty is not to get the world to repent; it is to realize our own need for redemption. People of all stripes all over the world can be overcome with shame. We all know we are not what we need to be. It is a miserable state indeed to realize we are inwardly fallible, somewhat corrupt and without self remedy. What often happens to those of us who are unaware of Christ's redemption, or do not take advantage of it if we do know. We in a private misery rehash over and over our mistakes, sins and foolishness. To avoid thinking about them we dive even deeper into sin and destructive behavior, and in an effort to justify ourselves we only focus on the faults and sins of others. It is a vicious cycle that only Christ can break. Even Christians struggle with this.
   There are essentially two ways to change the world..Change can come violently with little regard for casualties or collateral damage. It can be forced and demanded of others without any regard for personal liberty, or circumstances.This kind of change is illusive or temporary at best. The alternative is to begin the process of change with oneself. A realization that we are not superior to those we want to change is the first order of business. I know without the intervention of Jesus Christ in my life I have no advantage or worthiness to dictate anything to other people. I was as lost and ignorant as anyone before I repented and was redeemed..So I have no business mistreating or demanding perfection of others. I was not one bit different from anyone else before I submitted to Jesus..
   The apostles taught the leadership of the early church to be servants not dictators. They were to lead by example and wisdom, not restraint or threats. They were told to study to show themselves approved ( selected to lead ) and to acquire enough knowledge they would not be put to shame. Our duty as Christians is not to acquire as much power as we can to force others to behave and think like us. Our job and/or duty towards mankind, is to convince them to voluntarily submit themselves to Jesus Christ, and to live by what He taught in the Bible. Not because we say so, or have the power to make them. Because we have lived it ourselves, and the benefit and wisdom of doing so is obvious to others.