Over the years I have experienced the contempt and disdain of those who perceive themselves to be better than others based on their level of sin. They have a very high opinion of themselves because of their earthly accomplishments, or their lack of sin, or so they think.
Romans 3:22-24 "…22 And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.…"
When we allow those who are prideful to manipulate our emotions into believing we are lesser than they, we have effectively lacked faith. God gave this message to me one day years ago when I asked Him to please tell me what is wrong with me that people tend to show contempt even when we do something good.
It became apparent that it wasn't about me at all. Narcissists hate kindness and meekness, they see these qualities as weakness. Their response to those who hate to hurt others is to withhold acceptance and love in order to provoke ill feelings. If they can cause us to act badly in response to their tactics, it gives them the supply that keeps them elevated in their own eyes.
The narcissist loves to provoke, they prefer that we would not be kind and loving, it convicts them, challenges them and removes their sense of superiority.
Christ was hated by most people because His goodness shinned a bright light on the sinfulness and meanness of those who encountered Him.
When we have been changed into a new creation by Christ our demeanor changes, we are a different person than we were before. Those who knew us when we acted sinfully before the change, often prefer the person we used to be, it afforded them the luxury of viewing themselves in a higher status than those they demean, they love to devalue others.
A clue of this mentality is how they treat us after the change, they continue their false opinion of us to remain superior. Rather than rejoicing with us at the new us, they make a choice on purpose to view us as we were in the past. Even treating us disrespectfully, in the hopes that we would retaliate, further solidifying their preferred view of us.
The Lord gave me a solution to this problem, that is to openly proclaim what Christ did for us, admit that we were once sinful, but am now cleansed. There is no need to recount all the sins in detail, all sin sends us to hell no matter how small. It is the cleansing of Christ in us that we celebrate daily, when we know what He did for us.
Once we have become strong, disregarding the false opinions of others, we are more able to let the arrogance and tricks of others roll of as though we are teflon.
The reason we become sad or affected at all by mean spirited people who love to keep us down, is because we believe we deserve it. It really comes down to not believing God when He said this:
1 John 1:8-10 "…8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.…"
Those who act superior to others as though they have never sinned, are denying what Christ said, that "all" have sinned and need forgiveness.
When we believe God, that we are forgiven because we confessed and want to be righteous by the hand of Christ, then nothing anyone says to us nor anything others say to us will have an effect on us. The more we ponder His forgiveness and blessing the less we consider the opinions of others.
Impressing other people with phony persona does nothing for us and doesn't win the right kind of people. What is a great blessing is when we are authentically ourselves, we begin to attract other authentic people whom we will enjoy and they will enjoy us, not because we think we are so perfect, but because we love Christ.
1 John 3:13-15 "…13 So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer.…"
Those who are phonies will not love or appreciate authentic people, but authentic people will love us because we belong to Christ.
1 John 4:20-21 "…20 If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21 And we have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must love his brother as well."
Mark 12:30-31
AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.' "The second is this, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
Those who love Christ above all else, WILL love their brethren, there will be no thought of a sinful forgiven past or a need for superiority, there will only be deep concern for others.
John 13:14-15
"If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. "For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you."
We are not always allowed to wash the feet of others who feel superior. They often will turn down our offers of help, the sense of superiority is diminished for them if they allow us the blessing of helping. HOWEVER, we can continue to offer, feeling no sense of sadness if they choose to turn us down.
Our spirit desires to obey God, what others do with our kindness is not our business, it is not about us, it reflects their inner spirit. We cannot allow others to dictate our actions, we must do things according to God's will, and leave their responses to us, to the Lord.
Hallelujah, we are not dependent on anyone's love or kindness, only to Christ and we know His love is far greater, so much so that He actually shed every last drop of blood for us, and we can say, "for me." No one could love us this way, only Christ and we can love others as He loved when He is dwelling in us.
Don't be surprised if the love of others is rare, it was in Christ's day and is today too. He was rejected and demeaned by most and so will also be our experience when we walk with Him.
Matthew 10:21-22 "…21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone on account of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. "
John 15:18-19
"18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you."
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."
We don't have to act hatefully because others do it to us, we can act in love, maintain a clear conscience before God, as we grow in holiness because we did not allow human beings to dictate our attitudes and actions. Hallelujah!
No comments:
Post a Comment