Chinese/Kingdom Culture -2
Notes and comments by Sister Kim Frey
To build a culture based on Eternal Truth, a community must be built that lives according to these principles. This must start with personal discipline and then extend to families, communities, nations, and the world.
The highest priority must be given to knowing God on personal terms and connecting with Him on an individual level to know and follow His will.
Self-discipline must include building oneself to be a wise and virtuous person. A vital part of this process is in discipleship.
In governing ourselves, we must first have…
- The desire to learn and be persistent and diligent in practice.
“The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.”
Proverbs 13:4 ESVIt is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.”
Proverbs 25:2 ESV “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15 KJV Without a proper understanding of what is right and good, our moral compass becomes perverted, making it difficult to be honest with ourselves and others.
- When we do something wrong, we must feel remorse, repent, and have the courage and determination to change. Repentance leads us to cultivate godliness while eradicating habits that lead to sin.
- We must know how to discipline ourselves in order to effectively handle and govern others. By disciplining ourselves, we can also guide and teach others, showing them the proper way to behave. (This is part of discipleship.)
Those who truly abide with a clean conscience and choose the path of righteousness will experience freedom, confidence, and wisdom in their lives.
This wisdom will flow into a living relational culture in which communication and proper understanding are vital for effective governance.
In this culture, it is important to be both personally devoted to God and to loving others.
Loving each other must include not only forgiveness but also compassion.
Forgiving others can be extremely difficult, but it is essential for our spiritual, mental, and physical health. Jesus teaches us in Matthew 6:14-15 to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Just as God forgives us by offering grace and mercy, we must also forgive those who have caused us harm.
“Lay aside bitter words, temper tantrums, revenge, profanity, and insults. But instead be kind and affectionate toward one another. Has God graciously forgiven you? Then graciously forgive one another in the depths of Christ’s love.”
Ephesians 4:31-32 TPT
We are also to be compassionate.
The Latin root for the word compassion is “pati“, which means to suffer, and the prefix com– means with. Compassion, originating from “compati“, literally means to suffer with. The connection of suffering with another person brings compassion beyond sympathy into the realm of empathy. However, compassion is much more than empathy.
Empathy is the ability to relate to another person’s pain as if it’s your own. Empathy, like sympathy, is grounded in emotion and feeling, but empathy doesn’t have an active component to it.
The component of action is what separates compassion from empathy, sympathy, pity, concern, condolence, sensitivity, or tenderness.
Compassion gets involved. (This is kingly as it moves from knowledge to something we practice.)
“Beloved children, our love can’t be an abstract theory we only talk about, but a way of life demonstrated through our loving deeds. We know that the truth lives within us because we demonstrate love in action, which will reassure our hearts in his presence.”
1 John 3:18-19 TPT“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:”
1 Peter 4:10 ESV
It’s important to maintain honesty, sincerity, kindness, and faithfulness in relationships, particularly with friends. These qualities foster meaningful and genuine connections.
Pursuing peace and building each other up is also essential in creating a culture of love. These are gradual processes that start with personal discipline and then extend to the family, community, nation, and ultimately the world.
In order to govern or rule others effectively, we must first discipline and educate ourselves, as well as understand the hearts and ways of the people we are governing.
Grace and discernment will be given to help us determine one’s maturity and season of life.
It is important to respect those who are considered holy, wise, and righteous, as this will allow for proper love and relationships with others.
Each person has different realms of responsibility in life. Self, family, and society are each different realms in which we would feel a sense of duty and responsibility.
In Genesis 1:27, it states that God created man in his own image, male and female. This was not only a way for humans to reproduce and form families, but also as a larger mission to form a culture and a lineage. As each realm of responsibility is walked out in obedience, more responsibility (dominion) is given.
In God’s kingdom, dominion is not about ruling or oppressing others, but rather serving with love and benevolence. Two great examples of this are the way a shepherd cares for His sheep and the way a gardener tends to his garden.
Love then is not focused on self, but rather a larger sense of passing this kingdom perspective and purpose to the generations until the time when He returns.
