Living in the World

It isn't easy to live in this world. For those who have the desire to be kind, compassionate and fair in their dealings with others, it can come as a rude awakening when others let them down. As a Believer, I am to "turn the other cheek". I know that, but at times, it is hard to follow through.

Someone I love very much is dealing with this situation right now. She is being shunned by those with whom she must spend most of her time, and she doesn't even know why. It is hard to stand by and watch her heart hurt. The evil woman lurking inside of me can think of a million mean things she could say to them. I confess to sharing a couple of them with her, but I know she won't resort to saying them. She will be the bigger person in this situation. And it won't last forever though right now the time stretches before her unendingly.

So now what? Now I pray for her and for those who are testing her. And I will encourage her to pray for them as well. Why? The Bible tells us to pray for our enemies. Doing that consistently enables us to "walk in their shoes" for a bit. We learn to love them, even those who hate us, with a godly kind of love. It's not romantic, it's not weird, it's what sets us apart from those who don't have the same walk with the Lord that we have.

Holier than thou? Hardly! In fact, at times it is extremely humbling because it's the last thing I want to do. I'm supposed to WANT to pray for others, especially those who wish evil on me, but I don't want to! Christians aren't perfect. We're just forgiven. We fight all the same battles, and having those battles to fight reminds us that we're doing the right thing.

In the situation above, this young lady has fought a huge battle just to get to do what she's doing, and that is what keeps her going. My sister-in-law told her recently that the fact that things have not gone smoothly for her in this situation is her proof that she is doing what God wants her to do. That helps. It's good to remember that. But her heart hurts. And that's what it's like...living in the world.