Ten Biblical ways to Respond when mistreated by others
I love the Lord, but I can’t live a perfect life
Part 1
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Discerning God’s truths does not come with the prerequisite to live a perfect life.
I’ve been wrong, I’ve done wrong more times in my life than I can count-no doubt. I am not perfect nor am I excused from my sin. I am a sinner, just like you. However, that does not set us up to live there. Where would victory in Christ be if that were so? Yet, life in Christ does not remove us from personal hardships nor negate in us a response of pain and anger when we find ourselves the recipient of another person’s unrighteous schemes.
Certainly in the 50 plus years I have lived, I’ve hurt others, even purposely at times. Praise God that core in me was softened long ago, and He has taught me how not to walk in a life aimed at protecting myself by hurting others. I am thankful for His forgiveness and spiritual maturity in this area, though there’s plenty of room for more growth. Even more sad than the feisty words and actions of younger me, is the unintended hurt I can too easily spew over the people I love most, the ones who live with me in my home, the ones I gave birth to or the one I married for better or worse. My words can hurt. I want to say the unintended pain I can cause is just that, unintended (I’m tired, hormonal, hangry {you know that word?}, overwhelmed etc), but the truth is even to this day I can, and do at times, intentionally use my tongue to cause pain. I’m not talking about the words that hurt but are said in love, and by love I don’t mean mushy words, just straight to the point truth within a relationship that shares ongoing life. No, these words are the ones which come from my own anger or hurt. You know, the since-you-treat-me-like-this-I-couldn’t-care-less-how-what-I-say-makes-you-feel, because you deserve it. I could go on to explain the last sentence more clearly, but I really don’t think that is necessary. Pretty sure you can understand exactly the point. The truth is, only I am responsible for my words regardless of any surrounding circumstance. Is it any wonder, is there any doubt, about what we know about the tongue from scripture?
The tongue is a small part of us, but it can do big things, things both wonderful and wicked.
James 3:3-7 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
So, our lives here on earth are evidenced much by what we say, and we know God gives us grace as the wicked tongue unleashes our sinful heart and we hurt others with our words. But when we love the Lord, we are repentant of these sins. Let’s be careful not to get caught up in the net the world assigns to “Christians.” We can both live imperfectly and strive faithfully to follow Christ in our lives. The expectation of perfection isn’t from the Lord.
We need to guard our hearts above all else, because our life spills out from there-in words and actions. Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. We need to seek forgiveness from those hurt by our offense and from the Lord. And then, we need to realize God’s grace, live grace toward others, and rebuke the idea that we’re not good enough because we sin. On the contrary, we sin because we’re not good enough but we live out our hope in Christ, pick up our cross and follow Him.
