"God, I hate this! I treat them with respect and they treat me so wrong. Doesn't Your Word tell us, 'Treat others the way you want to be treated?' I treat them respectfully and treat them disrespectfully. I don't understand."
Has this ever happened to you? I love how we play the God-card to God. "God, doesn't Your Word tell us...?" Yes, God does know what the Word says. He wrote it! I know that I have asked that in the past! I might have even said the same exact words, until God stopped me at one point.
"Sure, the Bible tells you to do that. But, what's in your heart? You treat them with respect, but your heart is so angry against this person, your heart is so far away from the respect that you're showing them. If your heart is full of anger against a person, but yet treat them with respect, isn't it a lie? You're not honestly treating them the way you want to be treated, because your heart towards them is full of anger. You're not being true, you're not being authentic. So yes, treat others the way you want to be treated. But because of the anger in your heart, you're treating them with anger, with disrespect. It doesn't matter what you do outwardly, but what lies within your heart. Your actions reflects your heart. So this is why these specific people are treating you with disrespect, because you're doing it subconsciously."
I stood in awe. What God said was so right, because the people that treated me wrong, I had anger towards them.
I then stood and asked for forgiveness for the way I was acting. And I still struggle with this. It's hard to look at people with love who treat you wrong. But it's time to forgive. I've been in the process of forgiving them, and my heart is slowly changing from the anger into love. It feels wonderful!
So, this is what I say to you: Examine your heart. How is your heart treating this individual? If it's anything apart from love, then pray to God for a heart transplant, that he revolutionizes your heart and he leads it to repentance. God doesn't want us to live in anger or in bitterness, but in love and grace.
Has this ever happened to you? I love how we play the God-card to God. "God, doesn't Your Word tell us...?" Yes, God does know what the Word says. He wrote it! I know that I have asked that in the past! I might have even said the same exact words, until God stopped me at one point.
"Sure, the Bible tells you to do that. But, what's in your heart? You treat them with respect, but your heart is so angry against this person, your heart is so far away from the respect that you're showing them. If your heart is full of anger against a person, but yet treat them with respect, isn't it a lie? You're not honestly treating them the way you want to be treated, because your heart towards them is full of anger. You're not being true, you're not being authentic. So yes, treat others the way you want to be treated. But because of the anger in your heart, you're treating them with anger, with disrespect. It doesn't matter what you do outwardly, but what lies within your heart. Your actions reflects your heart. So this is why these specific people are treating you with disrespect, because you're doing it subconsciously."
I stood in awe. What God said was so right, because the people that treated me wrong, I had anger towards them.
I then stood and asked for forgiveness for the way I was acting. And I still struggle with this. It's hard to look at people with love who treat you wrong. But it's time to forgive. I've been in the process of forgiving them, and my heart is slowly changing from the anger into love. It feels wonderful!
So, this is what I say to you: Examine your heart. How is your heart treating this individual? If it's anything apart from love, then pray to God for a heart transplant, that he revolutionizes your heart and he leads it to repentance. God doesn't want us to live in anger or in bitterness, but in love and grace.