Loving Difficult People

 

   
Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." (Matthew 5:43-44 NKJV)

Do I have too?  Is a question that you hear children ask of their parents when told to do something they would prefer not to do.  What about an adult asking this question of God once they have read Matthew 5:43-44.  Do I have to love my enemies in real life?  In your real life?  They may or may not seem quite so devious, but you know who they are.  Picture one right now.  Then take this challenge:  Love that person.  Not an easy assignment.  Yet Jesus teaches in Matthew that you are to meet that challenge head-on.  He said, "Turn hate upside down."  It's important to note that Jesus didn't say, "Love evil."  He said, "Love people - even those who despise you."

If you have a tough time with this challenge, you're not alone.  The people of Jesus' day didn't know what to do with Jesus' love your enemies commandment.  It's likely that this sort of radical thinking contributed to the eventual backlash that ultimately sent Jesus to the cross.  The Jews had been looking for someone who was a dynamic leader - someone who would soundly defeat their enemies.  Instead, they got a radical who taught them to "turn the other cheek" and to "love people who hate you."  How can you love someone who hates you?  The first step is to recognize that all people are created in God's image.  Even those who get on your nerve.  God values every person.

Then try to understand why this person is an enemy.  Perhaps he or she is being malicious, or simply misdirected.  Could it be you did something to cause hurt?  Seek to know what drives the wedge between you.  If it is within your power, do all you can to remove that wedge.  Look for common ground.  Enemies are usually formed out of a disagreement in one particular area of life.  Put aside that issue for a moment and look for things you can agree on.  Focus on these areas in your relationship.

Consider distancing yourself.  If there is no reason to be in a relationship with this person, stay away from situations that could be troublesome.  Love from a distance is easier than hate in the middle of confrontation.  Pray for this person and for wisdom to know how to relate to him or her.  Only with God's love is it possible to love your enemies.  God's love can look beyond the hurtful actions and into the possibilities of the heart.  It can fill in the gaps in your own ability to love.

What are you Excellent at?

Proverbs 12:24

The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor.

    "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.” (quote by Aristotle) Many of us have the desire do something excellent with our life, we even dream of making an impact to in the world we live, so we often look for an opportunity to do something great. Well the issue with that is, everyone doesn't hit the lottery and even those who hit the lottery have a low percentage of making an impact because they have not developed the nature of excellence. Those who develop for themselves a learned behavior of diligence through consistently being diligent, create a life style of opportunity rather than a window of opportunity that opens and closes without warning.

   The hand of the diligent will rule; notice also Proverbs 6:6-8, “go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.” When there is business to be done, there is work to be done and if we can collectively receive the mindset of the diligent, we will create for ourselves a cycle of perpetual reaping and harvesting. Excellence is not an act; but a habit, this quote exemplifies the nature of Christ to which we should consistently strive to imitate. Prior to His death on the cross, Jesus exemplified a lifestyle where people looked upon Him with amazement and said He does all things well (Mark 7:37). That attitude was birthed out of His habits. Today is a short, but simple question, what habits do you have that imitate the slothful? Not consistently educating yourself and growing places you in force labor. Habits are created through consistency, if you’re consistently lazy you will develop a habit of being lazy and you will be excellent at it. BE DILIGENT for the diligent will rule!!

Want to Win?

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 1 Corinthians 9:24 (NLT)

Some friends and I were recently discussing if winning should be the main focus in playing games or sports.  One person argued that camaraderie and the spirit of “just having a good time” should be the main focus.  You may respond to that like I did – “I don’t think so!”  Let’s face it – who really wants to lose?  Who really wants to come in last place?  If you’re not playing to win, why play at all?  Or, using Paul’s analogy, if you’re not running to win, why run at all?

Winning starts with a desire to win.  That is, to win, you have to first want to win.  I remember playing spades with my great-aunt.  She showed me no mercy.  She never let me win.  After learning how to strategize and years of playing others – I finally defeated her.  It wasn’t an easy win, but it was a satisfying one.  And it all started with a desire to win.  Similarly, Paul tells us to run to win!  The race he speaks of isn’t a game or a sport, but it refers to our dedication, faithfulness and servitude to God.

Today let us want to win.  Let us desire to win.  Let us understanding that pursuing God and the things of God is not only a race worth running but it also a race worth winning.

Faith and Doubt

What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen.  It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)

Think about the first time you ever doubted.  When you began to question the safety of the world around you.  When you wondered whether or not you really could succeed at work, school, or even at home.  Or when you began to question whether God really did exist.  At that very moment you traded a portion of trust for skepticism.  You redefined trust.  No longer was your trust blind and unwavering.  Instead, it became measured.  Caution and fear of disappointment tempered trust.

Anyone who has experienced broken trust (and that's probably just about everyone) learns the importance of anchoring trust to a tangible, knowable object to something you can see, touch, taste, smell or hear.  You can trust that a chair will hold your weight because you've sat in chairs before.  You can trust that the air will be breathable because it's always been breathable.  You can trust that the food you eat will be safe.  The electrical outlets, grounded.  The car's wheels firmly attached.  You known when it is okay to trust because your skepticism has taught you to always know whom or what you're putting your trust in.  But don't let skepticism rule your world.  Though trust may come with difficulty at times, it's an important aspect of a healthy life.

Consider faith.  Faith is an unwavering trust in the existence, omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence of God.  It is the earnest belief that God really did send his Son to die for our sins and that He loves you. 

Faith requires complete acceptance of the invisible.  Faith in God demands belief in something that is beyond belief.  Even the Bible recognizes the unique properties of faith.  The author of Hebrews used this wonderfully perplexing description: Faith is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.  Wouldn't it be easier if God just knocked on your front door and greeted you face to face?  Maybe God won't appear on your doorstep, but God does reveal Himself in the Bible.  The Bible is your glimpse of both the character of God and of His plan for your life and His plan for the world.

Let your faith grow and flourish into all areas of your life.  Look for God in your faith.  Let Him direct you and get in line with faith and not with doubt.  Doubt will take you down a road in which you will never reach your destination, but follow faith and although you may not know exactly where you are going; you are assured by the promises of God that you will arrive at your destination and it will be in line with the perfect will of God for your life.

Life Without Limits

The prison warden paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, for the Lord was with him and made whatever he did to prosper.  Genesis 39:23 (AMP)

The more I live, the more I realize that despite circumstances – there are no limits in life.  There are no dead-ends that God cannot extend the road to; there are no corners you can be painted into to, that God cannot create way of escape.  When all seems to be lost, God reminds us that He has provided us with a life without limits.  Joseph is a perfect example of this.

Joseph was a man who had lost his freedom, was sold into slavery, falsely accused of rape and was thrown into prison.  For some of us, this would have been it.  We would have been limited by the "Why me?" and the "Woe is me?", but not Joseph.  Regardless of the years he spent in jail, he didn't play the victim – he didn’t allow prison to limit him.  Eventually, he was released and elevated to the second highest position in the land, but while he was in jail – he remained faithful to God and continued to live life without limits.  We read that the warden placed him in charge of the prison and left him to run it as he saw fit.  In other words, he had free reign.

Today, the question is this - is there anything in your life making you feel as if you are in prison?  Well, consider the fact that God is with you and favors you!  So no matter the situation – you need not live as if it was the end.  Instead, you can live life without limits.

Do you know how well you're protected?

O

 

                   Job 1:10a NKJV

Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? 

A woman decided to take a trip for the weekend to get away, upon her return she entered her house and turned on the gas to light her fire place and warm her house.  Suddenly she remembered her neighbor was collecting her mail, so she decided to run next door and retrieve it.  While at her neighbors she engaged in continuous conversation and decided to stay for dinner.  After a few hours she went home, relaxed on the couch and quickly became drowsy.  She then turned the gas off and went to bed.  As she fell asleep, the alarm went off waking her up.  Following the alarm she received a phone call from her security company explaining to her there was a deadly dose of carbon monoxide traced in the air.  

  

This woman decided to add the carbon monoxide tracer to her security plan and because of the connection she established with the plan, there was a hedge of protection with for that specific incident so when the carbon monoxide consumed her space it was not allowed to cause her any harm.  The bible declares that Job was an upright man who fears the Lord and shuns evil.  Because of Jobs lifestyle, he was able to establish a connection with God causing hedge of protection around everything he owned.   Now as you read the entire story of Job you will see that he lost everything he owned, but without Job knowing, there was a conversation taken place on his behalf where God toldsatan “behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life” (Job 2:6).   Job made a decision to trust God, put God first before himself and his possession.  Our ability to create a connection with God places us in a security contract with God and unlike the woman’s security system, God has the ability to protect us from everything, but even if we lose a few things, God will always spare what matters most.   Despite what we may think, God is a protector even when we don’t know it and the things we do lose, we only lose because God manually turns of the area of protection, there are no glitches in God’s security system; everything that was taken from Job required permission from God.  Remember God is a protector, even when we don’t know it..

Working on the "Forget"

Be gentle and ready to forgive; never hold grudges.  Remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Colossians 3:13 TLB

I forgive you.  Those three words are often difficult to utter, and they sometimes seem downright impossible to abide by.  Consider the times you've been wronged in recent months.  Perhaps someone lied to you.  Maybe someone said unkind things about you.  What feelings do you have when you think back to those circumstances? Anger? Frustration? Disappointment?  Notice how easy it is to recapture some of the bitterness?

When someone causes you pain, it's not always easy to forgive.  It's so much easier to hold a grudge, to silently keep punishing the person for his or her wrongs.  In a twisted sort of way, holding back forgiveness seems to even the score.

The Bible, however, teaches a different message about forgiveness.  In no uncertain terms, it says to "forgive others just as Christ forgave you."

When Paul wrote members of the Colossian church, he was responding to false teachings that had infected their beliefs.  Much of Paul's letter was written to refute this heresy and to help the Colossian church members find their way back to living according to Jesus' teachings.  It's significant for two reasons that Paul talked about forgiveness in his letter.  First, Paul knew that the confusion brought about by heretical teachings and the subsequent rediscovery of the truth could lead to bitterness and hurt among the members. Second, the message of forgiveness would point them back to the focal point of true faith: that Jesus died to forgive their sins.

This focal point of faith is the greatest motivation for deciding to forgive others.  Since Jesus paid the ultimate price for your forgiveness, what right do you have to deny forgiveness to those who wrong you?  Jesus said it even more directly: "If you forgive others, God will forgive you."

 

Freedom

So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. (John 8:36 NLT)

When Jesus uttered these words, some Jews, who opposed him, were quite offended.  Even though without Jesus they could have never experienced nor enjoyed true freedom, they insisted they were free without him.  Jesus pointed out why this could not be.  First they were enslaved to sin.  So although they professed being free, their evil and hateful actions revealed otherwise.  Then Jesus established that because they were enslaved to sin, they could not never claim status or identity in God – the true liberator.

In this day and age, freedom means many things to many people, but one thing seems clear – our sinful nature continues to desire freedom but finds it difficult to admit it needs help obtaining it.  Sin gives us a false sense of freedom.  Like those who opposed Jesus and who continued to insist they were free, but really were not.  They thought they were completely in control, but it was sin controlling them.

Today if you are in right relationship with God – you are truly free.  So walk in your freedom, not allowing anything or anyone to set limits, restrict or confine you - even yourself.  Stay free!

When the Reach Goes Beyond You

 

When the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched it were made well. Matthew 14:35-36 NKJV

Wherever Jesus went, people reached out to touch Him.  The woman with the issue of blood touched the hem of his garment and was healed.  Crowds gathered around Him, hoping to touch Him and be healed.  Jesus also reached out to touch people.  He put mud on a blind man's eyes and made him see, blessed the children, touched Peter's mother-in-law and made her well, and came to Jairus' daughter's bedside and raised her from the dead.

You may not be able to cure blindness or leprosy, or raise someone from the dead.  But your touch still heals.  You give others a great gift when you reach out to touch them.  Studies have demonstrated that physical touch is essential to human growth and well-being.  It has been shown that babies in hospitals who are held and cuddled grow faster and are better adjusted than babies who are not held. 

Reach out to those around you.  When your spouse is weary, discouraged by some situation at the office, make an effort to reach out with quiet undemanding affection.  A backrub or shoulder massage speaks gently when words might only add to their burdens.  Reach out to guests who come to church and welcome them with a smile and a handshake.  If you and your best friend have it out, be the first to reach out and apologize.

Be willing to reach out to others when you are in need.  You need to create a circle of giving, where love is received and passed on from person to person, heart to heart.  Don't stay behind self-protective walls of caution, but break down walls between people with compassion.  The sympathetic touch and empathetic heart mirror the heart of Jesus, who always had time to give to those in need.  When you reach out and touch someone, think of it as Christ's hands touching you - Immanuel, "God is with us."