One of the most useful first aid items in our home is the fever cooling gel. As soon as my kids become feverish, I put on their foreheads the fever patch, and the cooling gel helps bring down their temperature.
Now if only it has the same effect with “hot heads,” or people who immediately morph from normal to beast mode because of a word they read or heard, or an action of someone towards them. Indeed, this world will be a lot calmer if there are such magical cooling gel patches that could prevent needless fights and arguments.
But since there has yet to be such an invention, we as followers of Jesus, can look to the examples of our Messiah on how he handled negativity and difficult people. By fixing our eyes on Him, we can react with grace, avoid unnecessary stress that could affect our own health and well-being, and at the same time, shine Jesus’ light on others.
“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.” 6:27-29
The Bible is a treasure trove of information when it comes to dealing with negativity surrounding us. Sometimes, even if we are not doing anything, we feel like we are being judged, persecuted, trampled upon, or treated badly. Now when we are at the receiving end of ill treatment because we are trying to follow Jesus, we should not fret. Scriptures assure us that such mistreatment will not go unpunished, and that when we endure these things for the Lord, He will reward us.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11-12
As for concrete examples on how to face ill-treatment, we can look on to several examples in the life of Jesus. When the religious leaders tried to throw stones at Him after He referred to God as His Father, He just made His point across, and walked away from them. He did not insist that He is right, He just said what He ought to say, and left.
“If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do notbelieve me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.” John 10:37-39
It is so hard to walk away from an argument we know we can win, but we are being called to stay humble. It seems senseless to avoid a fight, we know we have an upper hand, but we ought to follow Jesus’ example of humility in spite of His power and divinity.
Jesus underscores this instruction to just walk away, when He told His disciples to just shake off the dust off of their feet when somebody refuses to welcome them. In essence, our Savior tells us that when we are being mistreated, we can just shrug it off and move on with our lives. No need to dwell on it, we should just focus our eyes on Him and our mission to live a life of worship.
“And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.” Matthew 10:14
Now sometimes, when we are being ill-treated, our loved ones and friends feel bad for us too. There are times when they would even urge us to retaliate, or even offer to fight for us. While such shows of support can make us feel a bit better, we are still being called to remain calm.
When people refused to receive Jesus in one village, His disciples James and John wanted to do something bad to the people who did not want to receive Him. But Jesus did not allow them to do that and just went on His way.
“And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village.” Luke 9:54-56
But how about heart-crushing things done against us, such as betrayal? Well, Jesus remains consistent in showing the example of grace, humility and composure. He knew Judas was going to betray Him, but still, He was part of His Last Supper and He did not mistreat Him.
“And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. ” Matthew 26:21-23
The same with Simon Peter, who betrayed Him three times. When Jesus resurrected, He did not confront Simon Peter, instead He just asked Him three times if He loved Him, and gave Him orders to care for His people.
“He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” John 21:17
But as Humans can we follow such an example? When our hearts are broken by betrayal, can we just calmly ask questions or continue to serve the one whom we know is not honest and faithful to us? The answer is “yes” if we follow Jesus’ unswerving trust in God.
Because Jesus knows that His Heavenly Father has good plans and He yields to His will, He could remain humble. As followers of Jesus, we can hold on to His words. We know that everything that happens to us is part of His good plans for us, and that vengeance is His.
“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” Romans 12:19
When we know in our hearts that God is for us, we can rest assured that no one can be against us.
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on John 10:22-42 and Luke 9:51-56 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Do you have a hard time handling negativity with grace?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, thank you for inspiring us to gracefully face negativity and difficult situations in our life. I could not do this on my own, but I know that when I fix my eyes on you, I could calm my heart and compose myself, so that I can remain humble despite persecution. Thank you and I love you my Lord.
