Just recently I have had someone be extremely brutal towards me and for no apparent reason. Without mentioning any names I have to say that when someone treats me so heartlessly I am a little bit more understanding if there is a reason behind their knavery. People often mistreat others not because of something you did, but because of something someone previously did to that person. You don't deserve to be treated that way, yet they do it out of illogical reasoning that you may be just like the person who hurt them before. It may be their way of pushing people away, it may be because they never learned that they should treat others the way they want to be treated, or it may be that they don't care about another's feelings and they their pride get in the way. One thing my parents taught me was that hurting people hurt people.
I most likely have been there as well and I think that is why I am more tolerable when someone hurts me deeply. It may seem like I am writing this out of spite and a need for empathy, but I encourage you to hang on to see where this is going. So many people have hurt me in the past. It is inevitable in life, but there's one person who has probably cut me the deepest and not once, but time and time again. I would call myself naive for putting myself in a position where it would happen again and I'm sure anyone would think the same. In fact this past time this person hurt me made me furious for about a day and then I was "peachy" after that because I had learned the secrets of preventing bitterness in my heart years ago. My life philosophy has always been to never let someone else be the reason that you fall. In other words, don't let someone else's actions keep you from being all that you can be.
If you let the pain manifest in your heart it produces bitterness in due time causing walls of separation between you and God. You start to build up walls between other people as well and begin to isolate yourself from good influences because you are afraid of the bad. In turn you become malnourished instead of becoming someone who lives a healthy life and has a healthy spirit. Some other negative results would be depression and anxiety. They all are able to go hand in hand and the more that they do the heavier stronghold is on your life. This is where discernment comes in. It is dire to make sure the influences in your life lead you toward the path you want to go in. Bad influences will drag you down and pull you under just to see you fall. They are incognito persuading you that what they hold is what is good for you. The apple looks good, but really it's poison inside. Now when someone hurts you whether they are a good influence or a bad one we are to mold ourselves to follow the familiar acronym: WWJD?
In Luke 6:29 it says, "If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic." I've been thinking about this scripture a lot lately so that I can understand the depth of what it means. I'll start out by telling you what it does NOT mean. It does NOT mean that you should let someone abuse you. It does NOT mean that you should let someone walk all over you. It does NOT mean that you shouldn't defend yourself. It does mean to confront someone in a pure manner asking for clarification. We should not seek revenge and believe me I know how hard it is when someone continually stabs you because I admit my initial reaction was to give it back to them as brutally as they have to me, but what good would that do? If it did anything it would only make matters worse. We need to keep in mind Romans 12:19 which states, "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." We are to let go and let God.
The true meaning of Luke 6:29 is that IF we were the ones to be wrong we should go out of our way to make things right. It doesn't mean that we should keep letting someone bully us around in the case where they have already wronged us. We are God's children. We are not weak, but we are strong in His power so that we may overcome. God loves His children and we should treat one another with kindness and humility never letting pride rule our lives. As this post comes to a close I encourage anyone who is in the grasp of someone who is hurting them physically or emotionally to get out as soon as possible and to never let manipulation bring you back to them. In turn pray for them. You can love from afar without getting hurt. Offer them unto God and forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.
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