Father, over the last couple of weeks I have purposely not written much and have not posted at all. The rest has been beneficial in many ways abut I am glad to be writing regularly once more. I may have taken a respite from writing and blogging but I would never be benefited by time away from You. I am grateful that all along the way we have continued to walk side by side. Thank You, Father, for Your sustaining grace.
1 Peter 3:9 (<<click here)
Lord, as sin continues to drive our world, we cultivate the mindset of “it’s all about me.” We are all over getting what “belongs” to us – freebies, rewards, handouts, etc. we are just as bad at lashing out. Retaliation is the name of this game and we are obsessed with getting “even” – you hurt me, I hurt you. And if I can one up you, hurting you more than you hurt me, so much the better.
This may be the way of the world but it most assuredly is not Your way, Lord. Peter states Your truth when he writes,
“Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you.”
We live in an upside down world and for many of us, it is extremely difficult to pull away from the multigenerational habit of retaliation – it’s how we’ve been raised! Every single one of us has roots, going way back, in lashing out and getting even. Sin is at the root of it all and has been there from the time sin entered the world. Cain took his anger out on Abel even though Abel had done nothing wrong. Cain wasn’t happy that his sacrifice had been rejected but Abel’s had been accepted. His anger was expressed in retaliation and his retaliation was murder. “God, You reject mine? Fine…You’ll not have his either!”
Retaliation is acted out every day. It’s all around us, from conflicts in the Middle East going back millennia to the driver flipping you off because of some driving infraction on your part. And retaliation takes us – all of us – nowhere but down.
Lord, as Your followers, we’ve got to put a stop to it – not doing so just continues to fuel the fire. We’ve got to stop paying back “evil for evil” and insult for insult. Believe it or not that’s the easy part.
The hard part? “Instead, pay them back with a blessing.” Lord, help us! Lord, help me… As You are, Lord, may I be…a lover not a hater. Help me be a giver and not a taker. Amen
Jan 3rd, Tues, 6:04 am
