Joe, I am sure we all have Romans 7 issues that we are dealing with. One of mine is having a mother who was a school administrator. She is a very controlling woman. My mother talks all the time. She has very strong opinions and knows absolutely everything. Before I was a Christian, I didn't have strong opinions about anything. Then when I found something that I knew was true, I had solid ground to stand on and started having strong convictions about things, like why abortion is wrong. Later, I realized that I had became much more like my Mom than I ever wanted to be! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> It drives my husband crazy at times. His mother is the sweetest, most gracious and mild mannered lady there is. So, I have to hold myself back a lot.
I, like you have to re-read my posts to see if there is anything that may be unkind or preachy or arrogant. Sometimes I have a very bad temper. I think it takes a kind of hardness to fight in the Lord's battles. Being treated unfairly and being falsely accused is part of the territory. My ungodly attitudes are part of the battle too. There is a danger that our hearts can become calloused and that we start to see those with whom we disagree as our enemies instead of someone the Lord would have us love and instruct. I haven't "gotten there" either. We all need more grace to speak the truth in love. We all have strengths and weaknesses and are growing in sanctification. The Lord is very patient with us. One of the signs of spiritual growth is that we see our sins more keenly and we grieve over them more and more, even if we are having victory over certain other areas where we had been defeated before.
