By Fred Anderson
Other Awareness
Self-orientation, self-righteous, self-awareness, self-concern, seeking-self, are all self-centered. Satan wanted a throne like unto God. Satan acknowledged the Father and the Son but was just worried about his share. What was in it for him? He had to make sure that he would get what he thought was due him. He doesn't feel like he's a bad guy just sometimes one has to take care of number one (self). Satan sounds a lot like people today.
People today are worried about their retirement, their job, their house, their car, their health, their looks, their status and what people think of them in general. People today all feel as though they are good people and their just trying to take care of them selves while they do things to others that they know God would not want them to do. Even their love waxed cold in serving their own needs, not that of the one they supposedly care about (Christ). When they hold each other it is because of their own needs the same as a cat, when they show their love it is covering up what they are really about which is needing sex or someone to confirm that basically they are good people.
As a Christian one of the biggest battles we fight is against self, since self is flesh controlled. We consider things according to our feelings, our needs and our emotions. These are flesh types of control. We do things according to feelings, such as overeating, being lazy, feeling bad for ourselves, talking about others to make us look better, cheating people (money, labor or goods), are all satanic things. You see we cannot serve two masters. Satan is the master of teaching self.
The other awareness concept is Christ orientated. Christ teaches us to consider things from a different perspective than self.
Joh: 7:7: The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
Those who hate Jesus also hate the Father who sent Christ. God haters are in bondage to sin. Most sin in the world is about self such as Cain killed Abel because Cain felt bad about himself and his offering to God. Cain did not kill Abel because of his love for God but for his love for himself. Too much self is a very sick thing.
Joh: 7:17: If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
Joh: 7:18: He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him
This is the foundation of Other Awareness. The concept of doing the will of the Father is an other awareness ideal. We are brought into this world and taught to serve our self in all ways of life. We automatically begin to cry because we are hungry or want to be held, we do not feel the love of our mother but the needs to be filled. From this we are taught that we are basically good kids while we do things based on our needs and grow in the desires to fill our self in all needs. Christ came into this world and did the will of the Father instead of serving self. This is the only way we as Christians can do the will of Christ is to love others as we love our self. To love another as your self you must do things according to their need not yours.
M'r: 12:33: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
We do not love our neighbor as ourself, we have corrupted the concepts that the Lord has taught us. If we did we would turn the other cheek in love to those around us as a light in the world should. We are supposed to be strong in Christ, not apologetic as Christians, apologizing for our Lord seems rather demeaning to my Christ since the apologizing should be to Christ for us. This does not mean we should abuse others but that we should be strong enough so that others do not intimidate us, and we should put Christ first so we can be a lighthouse instead of a judge. We cannot turn the other cheek in cowardice as a Christian, but we can as a coward. We have to be stronger than the one we are turning the other cheek too, otherwise we are actually afraid. Submission because of fear is not Christian.
Christ did not turn the other cheek in weakness; our Creator turned the other cheek in strength. We are supposed to follow his example. This means that Christians should be strong. True strength can only be achieved by other awareness and must be implemented through our daily lives such as not abusing mentally or physically our spouse, a child, someone we can intimidate, or a neighbor when we feel the need to hurt someone weaker. When we are Christians walking in strength we are to act as Jesus gave us examples of, not as dogs that feel someone's fear and attacks them. Turning the other cheek is something we do to someone we could have abused but we chose to implement Christianity instead. We are to turn the other cheek to the weaker: we cannot to the stronger. Isn't it funny how people do not try to misuse those who are stronger because we're afraid of their response, we only abuse the weaker, as bullies do. Man basically is evil and all the desires of his heart are wickedness.
Strength is a peace within that allows us, to not be hurt, when someone tries to do us wrong.
The Lord has shown us that we are not to be conformed to this world, so if we say everyone else is doing it, then we are part the world and part of the problem.
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