When we are offended by another person, we have four options: we can pout like a spoiled child, pity ourselves, take it out on someone else, or pray.
When we pout, we pollute ourselves with the poison of displeasure. It’s like pouring a teaspoonful of black dye into a glass of pure water and watching the darkness destroy what was pristine. It ruins the beauty that light brings to life. Pouting brings distress into our lives - not deliverance from an insult or problem.
When we pity ourselves, we are simply poisoning ourselves. Self-pity distorts our thinking, disrupts our work, disturbs our body, and even disfigures our face with wrinkles. It depresses our friends, demoralizes our life, and above all, dishonors our Lord.
When we take our hurt out on others, it not only pains them, but will come right back to pain us as well - and eventually punish us in one way or another. Revenge is like a boomerang: Although it flies into the path of the other person, it will eventually come back to attack us in the process. It can hit the one who threw it with the heaviest blow.
When we pray, we protect ourselves and place the responsibility for “settling the score” up to God. We are God’s children and what offends us offends Him; what hurts us will hurt Him, and what affects us has already affected Him. He understands our pain and our sorrow.
The Psalmist expresses this in a beautiful way: “I cried unto the Lord, and He heard me.” God will always take care of us, remove the sadness from our hearts, erase the insults from our memory, and bring His healing. When we pray, He makes things right!
Prayer: Father, when we have been injured or insulted by the ways and words of others, may we look to You for Your healing – both them and us! In Jesus’ Name, Amen!
Scripture For Today: Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, you forgive them all. Psalm 65:3
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