Decision: when to yield

. ,,....-u. Decision: When To Yield Frederick Mason #55487—O56 USP Tucson PO Box 24550 Tucson, AZ 85734 Situation: You hear cries for help from the banks of a lake. You look out over the waters and see someone struggling in the deep water. Abandoning safety, you rush out, dive into the water to the drowning victim. It takes seconds, but seems like minutes before you reach him. But by the time you get there, the person has gone under. You dive deep into the lake, and using strength and courage you didn't think you had, you manage to pull the victim seemingly lifeless, from the waters. With the strength only God could grant, you pull the person to the shore, but there's no breath. The victim seems dead. You try CPR, but nothing seems to work. You try everything you can do, but few things,if any seem to work. The victim isn't breathing. At this point, you start to question of it's worth it anymore. Is it time to give up; to let go? Is this person beyond saving? When do you give up? We've seen movies and television shows where there is a moral line drawn, and we must choose what to do. Do we continue to do what we HOPE works, or do we realize that perhaps there is nothing we can do, that we must realize that sometimes we can fail. At what point do we yield in our fight. At what point do we give up? I'll make it personal; At what point do I give up on people here that I care about; people that I've invested time, prayers and compassion on? What do you do when the scene has changed against you, and the very people you tried to help has abandoned you, or betrayed you? Simply put, when do you give up on them? If God had nothing to do with this, the decision would be easy. Carnal thinking is based on what it can get. If we, as carnal beings, don't get rewards for our actions, we stop doing the actions. In relationships or fellowships, there is a "give and take" involved. We expect equal, or more, than we give. And if this isn't met, we retaliate or abandon the relationship. This is how the flesh operates. So when a person is betrayed, or abandoned, it is natural to retaliate in kind, by giving up on the person... even if the situation is trivial, or even incorrectly seen. But if God IS involved, there then comes a stipulation that cannot be changed. Carnal love seeks its own, but God's love does not. This brings in a difficult situation for one who calls himself a believer: can you give up on anyone? When do you yield your compassion to another? Many guys say there is a limit. They mask it with some scriptures, but what they're implying is that you can bail out on a person who has done you wrong... and expect somebody else to save the person. Can you forgive a person God has put in your life... then walk away from him? My heart struggles with this, because of not one, not two, but THREE people that I have invested time, prayers... and sometimes tears for. When if, such people betray you, do you say, "Enough is enough", and walk away? Am I fooling myself to believe I can still make a difference in their lives, that "some people will never change"? Or am I standing on godly principles, to NEVER give up on people you care about? Where is the line drawn, where I have to move on, to stop trying to give CPR to a dead person, and accept closure? Or IS there such a line, if you believe God can save anyone if we just believe, and stay in faith? So many questions... Part of my argument is based on a possible scenario: What if I'm the last person, or ONLY person, to save that person? You can't walk away from a drowned victim, refusing to do all you can do, and HOPE somebody else comes along to save him. What if you're the only person there; what if you're that person's last hope? His life depends on no one but you. How far then, do you push your faith that this person can live; that the can be saved? But some will counter that when it comes to saving u-ow» people, God provides other venues. Some believe that God will provide help, so if YOU decide to give up,God will still save the life. Two scriptures are based on "One plants, another waters, but God gives the increase”. Another is the scripture of God telling the prophet that He has many others that can serve Him: I Kings 19:13 "...What are you doing here, Elijah?" I Kings 19:14 "...I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your alters, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life". I Kings 19:18 "Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him". The idea here, in contesting my argument, is that we can "let go" because God will find someone else. But, is this accurate? We can't assume Elijah simply "gave up” and God put Elisha in his place. History records that this scripture took place about 857 BC, because the next chapter talks of Ben—Hadad attacking Samaria. But history documents Elisha taking the ministry in 848... almost a DECADE later. This means that Elijah didn't just "give up" or "pass the buck". He still had work to do, ...— .... V‘; and he didn't give up. Yet the context makes it appear that it's ok, because God will automatically find someone else. The flaw here is that we assume that there are plenty of laborers... but Jesus said Himself that "the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few" (Matthew 9:37) and "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 20:16). If we assume God will find someone else, we become lazy, and more apt to "pass the buck" assuming God will fill the gap we left. So, where is the line drawn, or IS there one? Do you give up on someone you care about, even if they've done you wrong? Only a FOOL would continue to reach his hand into a viper's nest. Psalm 41:9 "Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted up his heel against me". What do you do when you're betrayed by the people you trusted most? Is the line crossed, where you can walk away, to leave them , not knowing if there's someone else to help them? Yet, one uses this scripture: I Corinthians 3:6 "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase". This was Paul addressing the people of Corinth, and, separated alone, could be said to imply that we don't always have to see the total salvation of a person. There may be times that we play a part, not the whole,of a person's salvation. But was this in context? Paul was addressing a problem that the people of Corinth had; they had started arguing of who was greater among the disciples...something the disciples themselves did with Jesus. Paul said to them, "For when one says, I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are you not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?" This wasn't about giving up on anyone, much less "passing the buck", but rather a clarification that we all have parts to play, and none is better than another. So one could argue that this scripture doesn't really address or answer the problem. These scriptures don't really give a foundation that we can abandon people and expect someone else to "pick up the slack". To be sure, God desires people to be saved, but tragedy happens when the people that God calls, refuse to do God's will, or that they don't do all the task God called them to do. If this wasn't true, then every person is guaranteed to be delivered, healed and saved, because somebody will be there for them, So, when do you yield? ..neVer... if you truly have the love of Christ in you.