Good Morning,
My Door County Breakfast Blend Coffee is very hot this morning and It feels good as I hold the mug with my hands. It warms from the inside and the outside.
I for one want to say that we have a quick witted society that can cut you up with just a few words. We are gun slingers of the mouth and very good at it. A lot of people fire back after a verbal insult in Nano seconds with a response that cuts to the bone marrow of our hearts. Just watch some of the sitcoms of recent past and the here and now. The Roseanne show is a perfect example of a family that could reply to any comment with a sharp return answer of nastiness.
It is a natural reaction to repay an insult with an insult. "You hurt me, I hurt you back". But God calls us to the "Unnatural". It is not natural to absorb hurt, pain and ridicule, yet Jesus set the example by not responding to the insults hurled at Him on the day He was crucified. He actually asked God the Father to forgive them.
1 Peter 3:9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
When we lash out to others who have insulted or verbally attacked us we have become just what they are, no better or no worse, but like minded. To the world we are no different and fail to live the life we were called to.
This is hard not to do and at times almost impossible. But yet we are better for not having returned nastiness for nastiness. It is not good for us to harbor responses in our hearts like a peaceful battleship afloat on the ocean just waiting to unload on the next person who picks on us. Instead of firing back with an equal measure of meanness we can pray for that person and ourselves. It takes practice and determination to not live "Naturally".
Food for thought today,
Marty
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