There are those people who have it right. They understand humility; they seek after it. You will find that they are teachable, and they lack arrogance. It seems that they have a true love for other people; helping others seems to come natural to them and they seldom ask anything in return. These, are easy to work with. You never find them exalting themselves, taking credit from others and they seem to always give all the honor to God.

Those who are a bit seasoned, know well what it means when we hear, “that person has a bad spirit.” There is a verse that is not used too much anymore; it says, “Cleanse yourselves from all filthiness of the flesh, and spirit,” 2 Corinthians 7:1. Oh, we well know about what is called the filthiness of the flesh, and we usually leave it there. It has been to our own hurt, that we didn’t get the part about having a filthy spirit. The tough thing can be, that we cannot always see a persons spirit. We see what is on the outside; and if it’s covered well, and many times it is, we really don’t see their true spirit.

We who are truly filled with the Holy Ghost, have a built in alert system that allows us to discern both good and bad things. But there is a very good reason, that most folk do not want that gift operating called, “discerning of spirits.” One who really has this gift of the Spirit, can see right through someone’s façade. Like it or not, they see what the Spirit sees, and most people do not want that. The strange thing to me is, those with an ugly spirit, know you can see them; those that are actually full of envy, cannot help but blunder in front of such gifted people, and it totally enrages them.

Daniel was one who had an excellent spirit; one of the highest and finest quality. He had an ability to know things, and he was full of wisdom. It gained him favor, even before Kings who were not of his faith and they saw that he was good in many ways. It was alright, until he got promoted to the highest levels. There were those who could not stand it. They felt they deserved all those positions; if anyone ought to be promoted, it should be them. The truth is, they could not find any real fault in this man. So, they had to devise some plot to have him thrown down. But, it didn’t work.

David said, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me,” Psalm 51:10. The world is watching our spirit at work; just as many of our peers are. A wrong heart, cannot always be on guard. Sooner or later, the real person shows through. There is a certain sound these people make; something is just a bit off and if you are truly full of the Holy Ghost, you can sense it.

We sometimes talk about how much we want to be like Jesus. Can we see, that many in the world and those around us, want us to be like Him. They are looking for that kind of spirit in someone; one that loves, does not condemn, doesn’t exalt themselves and has the right fruit.

This world is tossing and turning; those full of themselves are now running rampant; wrapped up in themselves. Those who say they are of Christ, but do not want to follow the Holy Ghost at every turn, to always give Him all honor and credit, actually have a very nasty and wicked spirit; and they are secretly greedy.

If we truly desire it, we can repent of all these things, and with His help, turn ourselves around. I know, because I tried it. We have to clean it out, get it out, and allow Him to rebuild, that which has been lost.

~ Robert Blackburn

Robert Blackburn