Romans 12:14-18
Ask God to bless everyone who mistreats you. Ask him to bless them and not to curse them. When others are happy, be happy with them, and when they are sad, be sad. Be friendly with everyone. Don’t be proud and feel that you are smarter than others. Make friends with ordinary people. Don’t mistreat someone who has mistreated you. But try to earn the respect of others, and do your best to live at peace with everyone.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
In the book The Glass Castle, author Jeannette Walls vividly describes her childhood and how she and her three siblings survived a life of squalor and physical danger. Walls’ parents were not uneducated... her mother was a teacher. But she and the children’s father “danced to a different drummer” – and that’s putting it nicely. The children often went days without food while the dad gambled and drank and the mother painted landscapes and still life canvases. They dug in trash cans at school for food… and seldom bathed. They were placed in one dangerous situation after another with no regard for their safety or feelings. Their parents deemed this lifestyle an “adventure!” Walls grew up in the 1960’s and 70’s. Today, I would hope that someone would notice such mistreatment and call Child Protective Services… although I know a lot of children endure horrific things even now.
Nonetheless, Walls and her siblings somehow managed to become productive citizens. Walls is a journalist and successful columnist who has worked for MSNBC and other media outlets. Her brother is a policeman, and one of her sisters is a respected artist. The children’s father died from health complications brought on by excessive drinking. Their mother is homeless – by choice – to this day in New York City. But through all of this, the children never completely cut their parents out of their lives… they never thoroughly washed their hands of these irresponsible, neglectful – if not abusive – people.
There is a lesson here for each of us. Walls said that, at the end of the day, these were her parents. She loved them and could not totally disown them. And believe me, she and her siblings seem to be poster children for someone who has every right to retaliate and treat another person poorly in return. Yet they did not. I’d like to say that their faith in God enabled them to do this… but Walls doesn’t talk about God in the book. Yet somehow, I believe He was an influence in the lives of these children. I believe that God sent them “angels unaware” to protect and nurture them… to encourage them to overcome their obstacles and rise to their full potential.
The point I want to make is that we cannot give up on others. We cannot give in to the temptation to play on their level and treat them unkindly. We never know when God is using us as an “angel unaware” to support and encourage someone else. The very fact that we do not mistreat someone who is mistreating us may be what sways them to change. Being “ordinary” with everyone we encounter and treating each person as someone with value and importance could be the very thing that makes a difference in that person’s life.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be the person who fails to make this connection! I don’t want my mistreatment of someone be what keeps them from feeling God’s love and presence. How would you feel if you got to heaven and God asked, “Remember Joe and how you were rude to him because he had been rude to you? He was supposed to find Me through your kindness.” Whether Joe ever found God via someone else or not… wouldn’t you feel terrible? Aside from that, God has given these instructions us through Paul’s letter in this chapter of Romans, so failure to act on them is a direct rebellion against God’s will!
Think carefully about the situations in your life. Consider your reaction to others… even the clerk at the grocery store or the driver who cuts you off in traffic. Sometimes it’s hard not to want to lash out at those who are rude and hurtful, but this doesn’t solve a thing… and it’s not God’s will. Ask God to give you patience and peace of mind, even when you are mistreated… and to show you how to minister to others in ALL situations – especially those that make you feel uncomfortable. When you please God in these situations, He will give you comfort and peace… and the satisfaction that you were His obedient servant even when you were tempted to do otherwise.
©2012 Debbie Robus
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