There is nothing we can do when someone refuses to listen, refuses to honestly discuss a matter, and begins gossiping about you instead of speaking with you. If the first thing out of someone's mouth is to defend themselves when you bring a concern, you know you are not dealing with someone who wants to reconcile. Those who do this want only to be seen as right and do not care how they may have harmed you, and they care even less what you think.
When we see this happening, there is no longer anything we can do to resolve the relationship. It is entirely in God's hands when we have been blocked, ignored, and resisted at every turn.
People who love you want to find out what they did to hurt you. They want to resolve any conflict, even if they have to admit they were mean or rude.
God told His disciples to walk away when they brought the gospel, and someone refused to hear it. The same is true of any other problem to be resolved; if someone will not listen, further pressure to listen will not help them understand. They will share what you said to others, only a twisted version that makes them appear to be the victim.
Matthew 10:14 "And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town."
2 Timothy 4:3 "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions."
Mark 6:11 "And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.”
John 15:20 "Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours."
We are not responsible for making someone work to resolve a problem. We are only responsible to tell the truth and leave everything else to God.
It is comforting to know that when someone is not open to truth and does not care about us, we have God's permission to move on with our lives with those who are loving and reasonable.
It may seem uncomfortable to lose someone we love, but it is far more uncomfortable to have people in our lives who care nothing about us and hate that we care about them.
