HEATHER HOPES: Mistreated and Merciful

By HEATHER CATHLEEN COX

Heather Cathleen Cox

Heather Cathleen Cox


Staff Writer
Reporter@sbnewspaper.com

Good afternoon, Ms. Cox. Love your stories. I would like your advice on resisting the temptation to lash out at people who wrong you in some way. Much of that occurs in the Valley, so much that it’s become a near everyday occurrence. How does one turn the other cheek yet resolve the problem? And how do you identify when to take that appropriate action and when to just…well, turn the other cheek?

Sincerely,
Wronged and Wondering

 

Dear Wronged and Wondering,

Although I don’t know your exact circumstance, I do know how it feels to trust someone and be disappointed, or to expect assistance from a person and be let down. And it stinks. 

Comparatively, through relying upon the Word of God through such times, I did learn a valuable lesson. We should never put our God-given faith into human beings. In Psalm 60:11, King David cries out to the Lord saying, “Give us help from trouble, for the help of man is useless.”

Psalm 146:3-5 says, “Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish. Happy is the person who has the God of Jacob for their help.” Essentially, David is taking it a step further by specifying that not only should we not trust ‘Regular Joes,’ we also shouldn’t place trust in nobles, officials or folks with fancy  titles because trust, faith and hope are gifts from the Lord and should only be placed in the Lord.

In Matthew 6, Jesus says that He sees everything we do, and He instructs us to do good deeds without telling anyone or expecting compensation from the recipient. Instead, He says that He will reward us. That means if we lend someone money, help them at their job, clean their mess, etc., we should view that as work done directly for the Lord. Not as a favor that should be repaid by the recipient.

The Lord promises a reward, which will perhaps not occur instantly but maybe at a time when your car breaks down and you can’t afford to fix it but the mechanic offers to repair it at his cost without charging for labor. Maybe it comes when you go to pay for a meal at a restaurant, and you find someone has already covered your tab. Maybe the reward comes in the afterlife.

It is human nature to become angry or upset when people act unjustly toward us. But rest assured that it is possible to resist the urge to lash out at such folks if we look at others through God’s eyes. Before you are tempted to think that this sort of charity is the impossible dream, let’s remember that our blameless Savior Jesus Christ was crucified by people He created, on a cross made out of a tree that He created, on a hill called Golgotha that He created. Yet He found mercy, while dying, and prayed to God, asking, “Father forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.”

When we choose to be kind no matter what someone does, and we refuse to expect or entrust anyone besides God to meet our needs, we also become free to repay hatefulness with kindness, injustice with compassion, and contempt with love. It’s not going to be easy, but rest assured it is a most attainable goal for anyone who genuinely desires it.

Thanks for the question, my friend. And I’ll be praying for your success in this effort.

Editor’s Note: “Heather Hopes” is a syndicated advice column. E-mail your questions to HeatherHopesColumn@gmail.com.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.sbnewspaper.com/2014/12/26/17106/

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