One thing we can all agree on is that there are some people, who are hard to deal with. There are people that we would rather not be around. We all know someone who is just mean, and mad at the world. Maybe we were that person. But sometimes dealing with people and their attitudes is exhausting. Especially when you try to do it the way Jesus would, then it just gets hard.
Proverbs 29:11
Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back.
Proverbs 15:1
A gentle answer turns away rage, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Luke 6:27
But I say to you people who are listening to me, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you.
As we grow older we go through a point of being hot-headed, hard headed, and very short tempered. We have all been in a position where we have either flipped out on someone or had to bite our lips and tongue not to. As we grow in Christ we will start to learn how to control our tongue but also how to respond to people who are mean and just hard to deal with. We all have that one thing that set us off. There’s a lot we can overlook and avoid but there’s that one button that if pressed will take from zero to a hundred in a matter of seconds. But what if we could control even that. as we grow in Christ even our biggest triggers become things that we can brush off because it’s not worth the energy.
The best thing we can do is respond with love. I know it sounds crazy and it is so hard to do, and we may fail many times before we master it. Anyone who knew me when I was eighteen compared to now can testify to this statement. We have to learn how to bite our tongue and give a soft answer. Sometimes we will constantly be provoked by others, who want to see us get angry. I’d like to point out that being angry is not a sin. It is what we do with that anger that can lead us to sin. Ephesians 4:26 says, Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, I’m not telling you that you can’t be angry but don’t act on it. Be angry but do not allow that angry to let you fall into to sin, and don’t let it turn into a grudge. Nothing good comes from acting on anger.
Exodus 14:14
God will fight the battle for you. And you? You keep your mouths shut!”
Psalms 141:3
Post a guard at my mouth, God, set a watch at the door of my lips.
Our biggest defense against others is out mouth, some of us are very keen with the comebacks. If you are like me you are very sarcastic and your mouth is very smart. I had to learn how to shut my mouth sometimes, because I used my bluntness as an excuse to be rude and disrespectful. I also used my smart mouth as a defense mechanism. I had to get past my own pride of feeling like less of a person or even a woman, if I didn’t attack my attacker and win. I always had to come back harder when someone came at me, to prove that i wasn’t to be played with. That was the pride in me.
-Dyamond
But when dealing with others we must be able to look past our anger and see that they have a heart just as we do. They can hurt the same way we do. We do not inflict pain on someone because we can or because we want to, even though they might do it to us, just to get them back. We have to respond with love, even to the most grotesque things that comes our way. We have to let God handle the battle, as only He can. Now this does not mean that we allow people to treat us any kind of way, it is okay to defend ourselves. As the men did in the book of nehemiah when they were building the wall. Nehemiah 4:18, And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me.
One of the best examples I can think of at the moment is when the men came to capture Jesus and Peter cut off one of their ears. Peter responded with violence, Jesus responded with love.
Luke 22:48-51
48 but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” 49 And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” 50 And one of them struck the servant[h] of the high priest and cut off his right ear. 51 But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him.
Now this is the part of the bible where Jesus is betrayed by judas and was arrested to face the death penalty . This is where the disciples became our friend group. We all have those group of friends that we have been through everything with and we will fight for if we had to. When one of us is in danger we’re all coming to their defense. Then there’s always one specific person in the group who just reacts. This is how it was that night was ,the disciples were ready to go to war for Jesus. They saw what was happening and they all looked at Jesus like do we need to start cutting people, do we need to pull out these swords? Before Jesus could answer Peter pulled out his sword and cut off someone’s ear.
It was at this very moment that Jesus showed us what it meant to respond with love. He yelled for Peter to stop, and then went over to the man, who was preparing to kill Him, and healed him. That’s love, mind you, this man was here to carry out the plan of killing Jesus. Throughout His crucifixion Jesus showed us what a soft answer or no answer at all looks like. People walked up to Him, spat on Him, punched Him, slapped Him, and He never responded with anger or hate, always love. And in the end God was glorified.
Sometimes it’s not worth the time to get back at someone, or get angry, many times the best thing we can do is respond with love. Return rage with kindness. I know it’s hard, but it isn’t impossible.
Reflection
- Are you easily angered or hot tempered?
- How much of a struggle is it for you to respond with love?
Prayer Time
Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer. Take in everything that was talked about today, and talk to God about it. Ask Him to help you control your tongue, and teach you how to respond with love. If you have easily angered talk to God about controlling your anger. Pray for those who are hard to deal with, pray for your enemies, and pray for yourself.
I love you! I hope you have an amazing weekend. Make sure you share this with someone and be sure to come back tomorrow for Day 65!
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