If you are like me, there are people you work with you make you mad. You know, the ones who know just the right things to say or do (or not do) to set you off.
So how are we supposed to act toward these people? Can we do anything to change them?
The Bible tells us we are to love our enemies. But how can this help?
David Jeremiah shares this story which sheds some light on this:
In the mid 1930s, a German Protestant pastor was abducted from his church. Suspected of aiding and abetting Jews, he was thrown into prison without a hearing, a trial, or even a phone call to his family. The prison guard outside his cell hated everyone associated with Jews and purposefully skipped the pastor's cell when meals were handed out, made him go weeks without a shower, and gave him the most difficult job on the labor gang. The pastor, on the other hand, prayed that he would be able to love this guard with God's love. As the months went by, the pastor smiled at the guard, thanked him for the few meals he did receive, and even got to talk about Agape love. The guard never said anything; but he heard it all, and one night he cracked a smile. The next day the pastor received two meals and was able to shower for as long as he wanted. Finally, one afternoon the guard personally made the long-awaited call to the pastor's family, and a few months later, he was released.
It is against our human nature to love someone like that prison guard; but through His power, God can give us the ability to love the unlovables.
Treating them poorly because they are treating us poorly is what our human nature tells us to do. However, this will not help to change them. Only by showing them Christ's love can they be changed.
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1 comment:
This is a tough one. It's even tougher when they are a brother or sister in Christ.
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