Aren’t you thankful for the people in your life who bring you peace, encouragement, and joy? We all need relationships like that. Ones that bring us closer to God and help us become better than we are on our own. Having people who build us up is a blessing.
But let’s be honest, not everyone in our lives is that kind of influence. We all face moments and situations with conflict, insults, and or drama. That’s part of living in a world full different personalities and attitudes. While we can’t control how others act, we can choose how we respond.
Jesus makes it clear that His followers are called to respond differently than the world does. In Luke 6:27-29, He lays out a way of handling conflict that doesn’t add more fuel to the fire. Instead of meeting insult with insult, Jesus shoes us how to choose more peace and less drama.
- Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you.
- Bless those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you.
- Turn the other cheek and offer more than what’s taken.
These are NOT easy commands. They go against our natural reactions and against the culture around us. Everyone else says, “get them back”. Jesus commands us to “love” them back. But that is exactly the point. As Christians we are called to be different. The world multiplies insults and drama with curses and slaps. Jesus calls us to live in a way with less harm, quiets drama, and adds peace.
When faced with conflict, we don’t have to play by the world’s rules. We can choose peace. We can choose prayer. We can choose to be people who subtract injury from insult. Let’s shoot for more peace and less drama!
Blessings!
Alex Mills