D.T.R...Subscribe/Unsubscribe...Like/Unlike

Do you remember dating?  Remember when you wanted to define your relationship with your significant other?  You wanted to know if this relationship was going somewhere, or if it definitely was not.

 It is important to know where you stand, to ask the question,” Am I a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’?  And If I am a ‘no’…why?”

 I think the most important relationship in our lives to ask that question in is with Jesus, especially if we are calling ourselves ‘Christian.’ I think it is a question we need to ask ourselves ALL of the time.  But handing it back to the Lord,   “Father am I a ‘no’ in this, and why?”

I think we all need to identify where we are, are we following Him, really following Him, or just getting the "feel goods" from Him, when it serves us, like a “fan”does. For example, a Fan on Facebook, follows some celebrity on Facebook, gets the free goodies when they are passed out. However when there is disagreement with what the celebrity is doing/saying, that person unsubscribes.  That is being a fan.  A follower follows no matter what.  Even if it causes discomfort.  I guess the other thing that comes to mind when defining our relationship with Jesus, is asking am I a Behavior Management Christian? 

Is my walk with Jesus all about managing my behavior and teaching my kids how to behave Christian? Ouch that is ugly. Christ cares about us from the inside first.  He is more concerned about our heart.  Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  Our issues come from our wounded and broken hearts.  If we let Him in, our behavior changes, because He heals our woundedness.

Are we unwilling to obey His Word? Are there areas in our lives that we are reluctant to move forward in that He is leading us in? Are we stiff-necked, obstinate, insubordinate, and self-willed?

So if we are a yes to any of the above questions are we really following Jesus?  Or have we stepped out, and have become a Fan?  I do not want to be a fan.  I want to be a true follower of Jesus Christ.

Here are some definitions from Merriam Webster’s on-line dictionary.

Definition of UNWILLING

: not willing: a : loath, reluctant <was unwilling to learn> b : done or given reluctantly <unwilling approval> c : offering opposition : obstinate <an unwilling student>

Related to UNWILLING

Synonyms: coerced, forced, unintended, unintentional, involuntary, will-less

Antonyms: deliberate, freewill, intentional, uncoerced, unforced, voluntary, willful (or wilful), willing

: unwilling to do something contrary to one's ways of thinking : reluctant

--

Origin of LOATH

Middle English loth loathsome, from Old English lāth; akin to Old High German leid loathsome, Old Irish lius loathing

Related to LOATH

Synonyms: cagey (also cagy), disinclined, dubious, indisposed, hesitant (also loth or loathe), reluctant, reticent

Antonyms: disposed, inclined

Related Words: uneager, unenthusiastic; averse, unwilling; ambivalent, conflicted, doubtful, faltering, halting, indecisive, infirm, irresolute, questioning, skeptical, uncertain, undecided, unsure, vacillating, wobbly (also wabbly); fainthearted, shy, timid

Near Antonyms: eager, enthusiastic, glad, happy, keen; ready, willing; certain, decided, determined, resolute, sure, unquestioning

[+]more[-]hide

See Synonym Discussion at disinclined

RELUCTANT

: feeling or showing aversion, hesitation, or unwillingness <reluctant to get involved>; also : having or assuming a specified role unwillingly <a reluctant hero>

— re·luc·tant·ly adverb We were reluctant to get involved.

Origin of RELUCTANT

Latin reluctant-, reluctans, present participle of reluctari to struggle against, from re- + luctari to struggle

First Known Use: 1667

Related to RELUCTANT

Synonyms: cagey (also cagy), disinclined, dubious, indisposed, loath (also loth or loathe), hesitant, reticent

Antonyms: disposed, inclined

Related Words: uneager, unenthusiastic; averse, unwilling; ambivalent, conflicted, doubtful, faltering, halting, indecisive, infirm, irresolute, questioning, skeptical, uncertain, undecided, unsure, vacillating, wobbly (also wabbly); fainthearted, shy, timid

Near Antonyms: eager, enthusiastic, glad, happy, keen; ready, willing; certain, decided, determined, resolute, sure, unquestioning

Definition of OBSTINATE

1:perversely adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion <obstinate resistance to change>

2: not easily subdued, remedied, or removed <obstinate fever>

Origin of OBSTINATE

Middle English, from Anglo-French obstinat, Latin obstinatus, past participle of obstinare to be resolved, from ob- in the way + -stinare (akin to stare to stand)

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to OBSTINATE

Synonyms: adamant, adamantine, bullheaded, dogged, hard, hardened, hardheaded, hard-nosed, headstrong, immovable, implacable, inconvincible, inflexible, intransigent, mulish, obdurate, opinionated, ossified, pat, pertinacious, perverse, pigheaded, self-opinionated, self-willed, stiff-necked, stubborn, unbending, uncompromising, unrelenting, unyielding, willful (or wilful), deaf to reason

Antonyms: acquiescent, agreeable, amenable, compliant, complying, flexible, pliable, pliant, relenting, yielding

Related Words: anal-retentive, obsessive; wayward, wrongheaded; determined, hell-bent, inexorable, persistent, relentless, resolved, set, single-minded, steadfast, stouthearted, tenacious, unflinching; firm, hard-line, hard-shell (or hard-shelled), iron, severe, stern, strict; hidebound, narrow-minded, rigid; bloody-minded [chiefly British], cantankerous; contrary, cussed; contumacious, disobedient, froward, insubordinate, intractable, recalcitrant, refractory, uncooperative, ungovernable, unmanageable, unruly; defiant, insurgent, mutinous; indomitable, invincible, unconquerable; confirmed, inveterate, unregenerate; demanding, exacting

Near Antonyms: docile, obedient, placable, submissive, tractable; accepting, persuadable, receptive, responsive, willing; governable, manageable, reasonable, temperate; slavish, subservient

Synonym Discussion of OBSTINATE

obstinate, dogged, stubborn, pertinacious, mulish mean fixed and unyielding in course or purpose. obstinate implies usually an unreasonable persistence <an obstinate proponent of conspiracy theories>. dogged suggests an admirable often tenacious and unwavering persistence <pursued the story with dogged perseverance>. stubborn implies sturdiness in resisting change which may or may not be admirable <a person too stubborn to admit error>. pertinacious suggests an annoying or irksome persistence <a pertinacious salesclerk refusing to take no for an answer>. mulish implies a thoroughly unreasonable obstinacy <a mulish determination to have his own way>.

Unwilling, reluctant loath, obstinate, stubborn, indisposed, hesitant,headstrong,stiff-necked, narrow-minded, insubordinate, unyielding, uncompromising,self-willed