PoP - Outshine Injustice

 Have you ever encountered an injustice and couldn't understand why? Perhaps it was in school with a hateful bully or at the office with a spiteful coworker? You were kind to the person, but they treated you in a cruel way that hurt your heart and soul. It's not an easy thing with which to deal, and after a while your ability to be kind to the person lessens to a point where you start to respond in anger to his or her mean spirit. You are not alone!

The truth is, it's easy to fall into that trap. The adage that misery loves company is true. The person you are encountering is so burdened by misery that he or she cannot stand the idea that anyone else could be happy. You are light in their darkness and they are trying to hide you under a bushel.
So what do you do? Well, the thing to remember is to control your tongue. Smile and just walk away if you have to. Offer kindness in return for their rudeness if you're able. Try to understand them if at all possible and pray for them no matter what.
Is any of that easy? From a human standpoint, NO! From a human with Jesus in your heart standpoint, well...it's easier! None of us are perfect. We all have emotions, feelings and a myriad of other human shortcomings that make it tough to respond the way we should instead of the way we want to in the moment. The difference is Jesus. He is, among so many other things, our "filter".
How would Jesus want us to react or respond? You see, Christ always responded perfectly because, well, He is perfect. So, if we respond how we think He would have, we will get a lot closer to getting it right than we would otherwise.
You see, our job is not to fix a mean person, but rather to be an example of God's love to that person. We need to plant a seed and see what God will do with it. He might ask us to water the seed, to pull some weeds, to cultivate the plant, or He might require nothing else of us than to plant and walk away.
When we remember that Jesus loves us, we can remember that a person's less than kind words, reactions and anything else are not really about us, but rather about them. We encountered them because God knows He made us strong enough to be a vessel He uses to calm another person's storm.
So, if you have a difficult person in your life or you just happen to encounter one in your day, let your perspective prompt you to say to God, "Okay Lord, if you think I can be a light for You in this situation, I am willing to shine!"

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