For if when we were
enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more,
having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5: 10)
All across my newsfeeds I see people posting about the
haters trying to get at them, the cheating men/ women who don’t appreciate
them, the fake friends who gossip behind their backs, and the devil--- the
devil attacking them at every turn.
I envy those people.
I envy them because all their problems are external, and
external problems are easy to fix.
Got haters? Stop
listening to them.
Being cheated on?
Leave that fool and don’t take them back.
Fake, gossiping friends?
Stop telling them your business.
And stop calling them “friends.”
Hateful boss?
Transfer.
Dysfunctional, co-dependent family? Move and stop calling them 20 times a day.
Nosy folks on Facebook?
Get off Facebook. (If you can’t
handle strangers you friended disagreeing with you, just delete your social
media profile.)
And the devil? The
devil’s the easiest one. FORGET THE
DEVIL. Focus on God. Jesus handled satan
a long time ago.
I wish I was one of those people who’s pleased with myself
and afflicted only by external enemies and haters. But sadly that’s not my luck.
My biggest enemy is ME.
Like Paul said, “The good that I will to do, I do not do;
but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to
do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law,
that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in
the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my
members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to
the law of sin which is in my members.”
(Romans 7: 19-23)
I don’t wake worried in the middle of the night, afraid of
what my haters are going to try. I do
stress over how prepared I am (or am not) to fulfill my part of all the deals
I’ve made with God over the years.
I seldom get into a lot of drama with other people. My headaches come from pulling logs out of my
own eye. My freshest and deepest scars
have come from wrestling with myself.
And I’m a tough dude.
So, I look with wonder at all these folks who only every
have trouble because of what other people do to them. It’s like the strange gospel narrative I hear
in some Christian circles:
We know that the Lord Jesus interceded in history to save us
from sin. But the way they tell it, the
Lord apparently came to save them from EVERYBODY ELSE’S sins. Must be because they quickly say that they
don’t regret their old ways. So they’re unrepentant ----but saved. Therefore, they must be saved from what other
people did wrong. In their version of
the gospel, every saint is a victim of sin, rescued by the grace of God in
Jesus Christ.
But I don’t read it like that.
The way I see the gospel, Jesus came to save me from MY sins. Jesus came to save you from YOUR sins. We aren’t the victims.
We’re the villains.
For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God
through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be
saved by His life. (Romans 5: 10)
I have my share of haters, false friends, unreasonable
supervisors, crazy family, and spiritual attacks. I know that you do, too. But I strongly recommend a fresh assessment
of who is the greatest source of trouble in your life. Is it really ALL men? ALL women? Is it really only their fault? Or is it your choices? Does the problem begin with what they do, or
with how you respond to what they do?
But probably, it’s them.
Just them. Not you, not you at
all.
You don’t contribute anything to your own drama.
It’s probably just me.
If we say that we have
no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our
sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say
that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (1
John 1: 8-10)
---Anderson T. Graves
II is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry,
and rural leadership development.
Rev.
Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield,
Alabama; executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking
Organization (SAYNO); and director of
rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
Subscribe
to my personal blog www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com .
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
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