Welcome to General Chat - GAW Community Area
This General Chat area started off as a place for people to talk about things that are off topic, however it has quickly evolved into a community and has become an integral part of the GAW experience for many of us.
Based on its evolving needs and plenty of user feedback, we are trying to bring some order and institute some rules. Please make sure you read these rules and participate in the spirit of this community.
Rules for General Chat
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Be respectful to each other. This is of utmost importance, and comments may be removed if deemed not respectful.
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Avoid long drawn out arguments. This should be a place to relax, not to waste your time needlessly.
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Personal anecdotes, puzzles, cute pics/clips - everything welcome
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Please do not spam at the top level. If you have a lot to post each day, try and post them all together in one top level comment
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Try keep things light. If you are bringing in deep stuff, try not to go overboard.
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Things that are clearly on-topic for this board should be posted as a separate post and not here (except if you are new and still getting the feel of this place)
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If you find people violating these rules, deport them rather than start a argument here.
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Feel free to give feedback as these rules are expected to keep evoloving
In short, imagine this thread to be a local community hall where we all gather and chat daily. Please be respectful to others in the same way
So here is a question for anons..
If you have any people from your past you consider an enemy in life
Would you rather they be 4-6% or would you rather they awaken?
A family member of mine told me this once.
For ourselves, we won’t mercy… But for others, we want judgment.
I have to remind myself daily, that if I was held accountable for all the horrible things I did in the past, I probably be in prison for the rest of my life. I was an extra garlic, back in my teenage and young adult years, I did a lot of stupid things. I’m grateful I was not caught in held accountable for all of those stupid things I did. The price people paid for doing drugs, and selling drugs back in the 80s and 90s, or a lot steeper than they are now. I’m grateful for my freedom, and more importantly, my freedom in Christ.
I want that for all of my enemies, and for anybody who’s ever done me wrong. Yes, I want them to see and feel the love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I haven't thought of anyone as an "enemy" in, gosh, forever. Maybe never. That in itself is a blessing. It means I haven't ran into any real "monsters", I guess.
I'd always rather have anyone be awakened, because to me that means Saved by Christ. Would never want anyone to be lost forever, as that is profoundly sad.
Good question. WWG1WGA
That's a very good observation on awake. Thanks for sharing I always learn from frens here.
10 years ago my answer would be very different than today... and filled with venom and vitriol.
However, only through my own pursuit of self inquiry, and most certainly the grace of God, have I been fortunate enough to experience first hand, Christ's greatest commandment: To love thy neighbor as yourself.
Deep prayer and meditation allowed me to be silent enough to experience our true nature - which is love and compassion.
God's grace shined on me as I sat on complete silence - no monkey chatter - zero thought - and for a brief moment of time I finally deeply understood Christ's greatest commandment.
I struggled my whole life to truly understand how it was even remotely possible to love people that pissed me off on a daily basis. As you know, you can't force yourself to love or be loved. It's just not possible. And never being able to heed Christ's commandment, always made me feel disingenuous that i couldn't achieve it, that I didn't get it.
But what I came to understand through the grace of God is that, I don't have to love the actions of any of these "characters" playing their role. I don't have to love the fudge round bag toting characters or any others that weren't living right.
Instead, I can love that which is the Holy Spirit within these characters. That which is in God's image, beyond the body and brain. That which is eternally pure and untainted by the conditions we find ourselves in.
I can genuinely feel compassion for the hell they've experienced, which no doubt has caused them to play this shit character that pisses me off. That's the difference and that makes loving your neighbor as yourself possible, no matter what character they play or deed they do.
I hope y'all get to experience what I did, even for only a few seconds, because that's all it takes when God shines His Light on you. None of us are ever going to be perfect characters, but God's Spirit within ALL of us is eternally perfect.
Beautiful comment fren. And yes, I had an epiphany like that once as well, and I'm literally eternally grateful for it.
Thanks for articulating this so well.
We all certainly make mistakes and sin. So much peace can be had from remembering our own flaws before casting stones.
It's kind of cosmicly comical how flawed we all are, and how perfectly forgiveness and repentance answer the problem.
Christ, and his teachings, are funnily airtight. 🤗
I’d rather them awaken. They can influence more people alive than dead. Also, I’m all about peace and love at this point in my life. Helping others.