Overcoming the Slights of Men With God's Eternal Love

Every since I became an active citizen, an activist for serious political causes, I have had my fair share of dust-ups and brush-ups.

People have pushed me, stolen from me, chased me down streets, spit at me.

Some people have gotten in my face.

I was the victim a few times, and yet even then some of these wannabe macho types would comment on Facebook, YouTube channels, or other sites and comment:

"If I had been there, I would have never let that happen to me."

"That guy wouldn't have gotten away with that."

Some of them just attacked me:

"You are a wimp."

"What a cuck!"

Blah, Blah, Blah.

For a long time, though, I did think about the wrongs that had been perpetrated against me. A sense of outrage and shame would overtake me. "How could I let them get away with that? What was I thinking! I should have stepped up and pushed back!"

For a long time, I began to prep myself with this sense of "punch back! punch first!" mentality. I wanted to make sure that no one ever got away with messing with me, with taking something from me, with affecting my dignity.

I was meditating on this dilemma last night. Why did I have a sense of outrage? Why could I not rest over one conflict that I had endured, even though a number of people had told me that I had handled it properly?

Then I realized--out of the many people who had praised how I had handled one very tough situation, I was focusing on one person whose blood was boiling when he watched what I sat through quietly.

It occured to me then: many people do not see, do not understand the love of the Father the way that I have understood him. While many people have a sense of self-important and pre-eminence, and cannot abide the thought of being shouted at, shamed, dishonored by dead people in this fallen world, I know and believe that God's love for me has been from everlasting to everlasting.

There is nothing that the world can do a man who has been established in righteousness. There is no shame that will stick to a man who knows that He is fully accepted in the Beloved. No shame, no dishonor, the hollow laughter of little people cannot affect a man who knows where he is seated:

"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:" (Ephesians 2:4-6)

When you understand that you have the favor and fervor of Almighty God, who cares what other people say about you? Really--who cares?

Then I began to realize that I had been entertaining a different form of mixture. I was taking other people's opinions and views of certain issues and conflicts in my life.

The shame and abuse of others cannot stop me, cannot hurt me, because I have perfect standing in my loving father. It really doesn't matter what other people say to me.

This active love of my Daddy fills me up and shapes me.

If I failed to stand up for myself one time, I do not have to live in a sense of shame. I do not have to worry about fixing or repairing a situation. I do not have to be done or hard on myself because I could have, should have, would have said something, done something different.

This is quite liberating. His life is coursing through my my heart, my mind, my soul, and my strength.

And the more that I simply rest and understand where I stand in Christ, the easier and wiser I have become in repeling and rebuking hateful people.

"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD." (Isaiah 54:17)