On the topic of “Discourage” this week…
Do you ever find yourself trying to change somebody else? I think we all do this. If you have kids, you tell them what to wear, how to act, and what not to do. If you work in an office, you probably at one point complained about the way that somebody else does something or doesn’t do something. And if you are a young student, well, you are perfect, at least in your own mind 🙂
I used to think that Jesus was perfect. Not in the sense that he never sinned, but that everybody liked him. I just assumed that perfect meant that everybody liked you, like a popularity contest. Obviously this is a very stupid thought. Jesus wouldn’t have been crucified if everybody liked him.
There was somebody very close to me that I would constantly try to change. I didn’t like their attitude or the way they approached life. I would give myself bloody knuckles from punching steering wheels because I would try so hard to get them to see the world as I see it. The more I tried to change them, the more they resisted. It eventually bothered me so much that it became unbearable for me to be around that person. Rather than learning to live with the way they were, I completely removed them from my life because I didn’t like a few things about them. It’s a pity that you can’t reverse time because I will never have that time apart from them back.
My relationship with that person is still rocky, it’s not perfect, but accepting people for who they, not only as a Christian but as a human being goes a long way. I could sit here and point all the things that person was doing wrong but unless I fix the things that are wrong in my own life, it won’t mean anything. And it very well could take a lifetime for that person to see the changes in my life but God willing, it will change their life.
Matthew 7:1-5 ESV
Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.