We meet several people in a day. We walk by tons of people in a day too. Not all are very amusing to us. Some may really irritate us. Even an askh*le person that constantly asks for advice but does the exact thing to your advice. Or this know-it-all person that loves to give an opinion and notices everything. And this friend that frequently share negativity in almost everything. These kinds of people irritate us.
But should we still be good to them given the fact of their upsetting attitude/characteristic? The answer is Yes. We should still be good to people regardless.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <Be kind. For everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about> < = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = "Ian MacLaren(Rev. John Watson)" = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We don't know if this person is dealing with things that we know nothing about- things we don't have an idea of. Worst is, they might be in a battle they don't even realize they're in.
That 'careless' pedestrian that we hate might be thinking so much of how she can feed his family for the day. That 'grumpy' old lady might be just so sad because her kids and grandkids don't visit her anymore. That 'temperamental' man might be struggling with a cheating wife or just lost a job. That 'sleazy' teen might an abused child. That rebel kid might also suffer from an abusive or traumatic childhood. We never know what each of us is battling with.
Don't get me wrong. Being good does not mean you should let anyone abuse you, take advantage of you nor bully you. Being good does not mean you don't fight for your right. And fighting for your right does not mean you're not good. Know the difference.
"Romans 12:20-21 ESV" To the contrary, 'if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing so you will heap burning coils on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
As they say, "A mistake can never be corrected by another mistake."
We all fight a battle between good and evil. Others are successfully used by evil to do wrongdoings. We should be good to them by praying for them in their inner battles. I would want to believe that wishing for them is just like praying for them too. Let's wish them to win the battle and let righteousness win instead.
Don't let them taste the wrath of your revenge but let Him judge them and have them taste His wrath of revenge.
Romans 12:19 NIV
Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for this is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
We all make mistakes. We all sin. We will fall and make mistakes as long as we live. And being good does not mean being abused. We can be good and people don't have to know we are. We are also judged from within not only for our actions.
I wish everyone well; Good morning!
-J
Nice