Ground Rules of Christianity

While pride builds walls, humility builds bridges. Humility is the catalyst in strong, healthy relationships. Bible says, "Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another" (1 Peter 5:5 NIV). Humility = Thinking of yourself less, not thinking less of yourself. People focused on serving others are humble; they don't have time to dwell on themselves.

Frankness is not rudeness. It is not a license to say anything you want, whenever you want. The Bible lets us know there is a time and season for every action.

When conflict erupts, we grow closer by handling it correctly, in essence facing and resolving our differences. The Bible says, "In the end, people appreciate frankness more than flattery" (Proverbs 28:23 NLT).

The Bible instructs us to speak "the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15 NIV) because we can't have fellowship without candor. Solomon said, "An honest answer is a sign of true friendship: (Proverbs 24-26 TEV). Sometimes this means caring enough to lovingly confront one who is sinning or is being tempted to sin.

Honesty is required in order to help the good of all. Speaking the truth is required when a problem presents itself. you might want to ignore what's happening, but others need the clarity and guidance to effectively get through the crisis. If you just say, "That's OK," but silently fume about a problem, like a volcano, pressure will build up and the top will blow. Get problems out in the open, if it's an especially touchy or volatile problem, seek a mediator, either a pastor, priest, or counsellor.

Fellowship requires commitment. Both God's power and our efforts are required to produce a loving Christian community. Getting along with each other is accomplished through treating others with dignity and honor. James 3:18 The Message says, "You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor."

Forgiveness must be immediate. Trust must be rebuilt over time. It cannot be rebuilt instantly, when distrust has been caused by repeated attacks on a person. Do not trust them again instantly and do not trust them immediately and do not allow them to continue hurting you. You will know if they have changed. We must forgive, but we don't have to stay in the situation to be hurt again.

The willingness to forgive must be in the hearts of all in the group. We are warned to never hold grudges, because bitterness and resentment always destroy fellowship. Being the sinful, imperfect people we are, we inevitably end up hurting another's feelings or worse, if we're together long enough. Sometimes the hurting is done intentionally and sometimes unintentionally, but either way it takes massive amounts of mercy and grace to forgive. But forgiveness is what is required to create and maintain fellowship.

Because we all stumble and fall into sin, time and time again, we need God's mercy to help us stand and face the world again. We need to offer mercy as well as be willing to receive it from God and our fellow man. (2 Corinthians 2:7 CEV) "When people sin, you should forgive and comfort them, so they won't give up in despair."

These are some of the ground rules of Christianity. More will be added later as well as other bits of Christian philosophy.