Keeping a record of being wronged!

"I distant myself from her because I don't trust her. Whenever I would tell her something, she would tell other people. Too many times she's criticized my faith, put me down and hurt me bad, so for that reason, I choose not to be open or close to her". This is the attitude I had towards a family member. I did not even realize it was a problem until it was highlighted to me. Through this God showed me that many times we want people to show mercy towards us, give us the benefit of the doubt and not judge us by our past mistakes, but we are not so fast to do the same to others.

We may not say this in words but how we act towards that person shows very well we are still judging them from their mistakes. Of course we have to be careful, protect our faith, but that does not mean we cannot interact with them or share certain things with them. Maybe our distance is what is impeding them from coming to God.

Just as God is merciful towards us let us do the same to others.

“ And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives”. Jude 1: 22-23

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Shame on me

I found myself going through a situation, a hard one that made me feel like I was in a desert. No matter what I did, I couldn’t get myself out of it. I prayed and prayed and asked God, “Why am I going through this”? I didn’t understand. The only thing that came to my mind was a particular person I came across a few years back. I didn’t understand why she was coming to my mind, as I rarely saw her. In fact, I couldn’t even remember the last time I saw her. The more I thought about her, I remembered a hard tough situation she went through. Then the penny dropped.

She had always tried to help me, but because I knew about a problem she was facing, I didn’t take her seriously. I thought, “How can you help me when you yourself are going through similar problems”. I judged and criticized her a lot. Now, years later, I found myself in the same situation as her, facing the same problem.

I felt so bad. The word of God was coming to pass in my life, but not in the way I wanted it to. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you”. – Matthew 7:1 – 2. We only look to the promises of God that favour us, but we forget that God is just and that whatever we sow, we reap, even the bad fruits. I saw my wrong, repented from it and though I was paying the price for it, the grace of God was giving me strength to endure it. Just because a person is going through something, it doesn’t mean they are unable to help you. They may have overcome other things that can help you, for we all go through battles every day, no one is exempt from them.

A great lesson learnt, don’t judge anyone or look down on anyone because they are going through a bad and sometimes humiliating situation. One day, we may go through the same thing, but unlike them, you may fall to pieces and never get up again.

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