7-27-11

Dear Family of Faith,
Is anyone making your life miserable? In my years of ministry there have been two people in my last two churches that come to mind as people who became enemies. I'm sure that I'm not alone in this experience. Sometimes relationships that begin as friendships turn sour. People get hurt, and those who hurt begin hurting others. The same thing can happen even in marriage relationships and partnerships and between children and parents. When people get angry at us and seek to hurt us, our natural reaction is to want to do the same to them in return. This "eye for an eye" mentality pervades our culture, even the Christian world, even though Jesus decried such a vindictive nature. What, then, are we to do when someone gossips about us, tries to turn friends and family away from us, or tries to run us down to make themselves look better? In the Book of Romans the Apostle Paul wrote these words: "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them....Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all....Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Several years ago a couple in the church tried to destroy the unity of the congregation. People thought I was crazy not to "fight back" and discredit them. I struggled with it much, but the congregation was supportive of me and helped me through that. That's what I would say to any of you who are facing difficult people in your life. None of us can do life on our own; we need others who can support us in tough times, and we need to remember to cast all our cares on God who cares for us. This allows us to be different from the world, to hope against the odds that people can be different, to find peace in the midst of all the storms of life. After all, why should we become like those we don't like? As best as you can, let go of the pain in your life and move on. God has better things for you.