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. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. Luke 6:27-31 [ESV]
This is one of the hardest things for me to do. I am a regimented, right vs wrong, and very principled person. My tendency is to let a person get what they have coming to them. I am a heavy proponent of just law and order. Listing to this segment from the sermon from Jesus shows me how far I have come, yet at the same time reveals how much further I have to go.
At work I have really made good strides at loving on, praying for, and encouraging those I don’t get along with. Just recently (if you have been following me here), I had to eat crow by apologizing to a co-worker for getting angry with them. Since this episode, we have worked well together, and I have even been sending them prayers of mine over text for their mother who has brain cancer. I am so much more lenient with people who are crazy on the road. Thanks be to the Lord God Almighty, I am in much better control of my anger towards people who don’t like, abuse, or combat me.
However, I have so much more I can do. I need to open my hands more to those who are destitute or in need of help/assistance. More importantly I not only need to be listening to God’s direction toward these people….I need to be seeking them out. I want to increase my tolerance, grow my giving, and widen my forgiveness. Just as I have stated above, in moments where I extend grace to those who have come at me, I have found some of them seeking me out for advice and to work more closely with me on projects. To God be the Glory.