I attended church last Sunday for the first time in a few weeks and the Pastor was finishing up a series on “Words, Actions, Reactions.” He preached an important message, because Words, Actions, Reactions can lead to W.A.R., can they not?
The pastor built his sermon around the framework of Romans 12:9 – 19. He asked us to read and reflect on the passage daily for the week, which I have done. Here it is if you want to read it for yourself:
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d] says the Lord.
Romans 12:9 – 19, NIV
I learned three takeaways from the sermon regarding interactions with others. 1) Focus on the person, not the action. 2) Don’t let the other person’s actions dictate my actions. 3) Don’t play God.
Focus on the person, not the action. Someone says or does something with which I disagree? Whenever possible, my approach should start with the person, not what he or she did or said. By acknowledging the person’s humanity, first, a better tone is set for whatever happens next.
Don’t let the other person’s actions dictate my actions. Again, what if someone says or does something with which I might disagree? One tendency is to unthinkingly push back, to fight fire with fire. However, then I am handing over my autonomy to the prompts of another person. As Epictetus said, “If a person gave away your body to some passerby, you’d be furious. Yet you hand over your mind to anyone who comes along, so they may abuse you, leaving it disturbed and troubled—have you no shame in that?”
Don’t play God. Vengeance is so complicated that the Bible can’t even clarify it for me. I find it challenging to reconcile the Old Testament characterizations of the God of vengeance with Jesus, turn the other cheek, Christ. So being that vengeance is complicated, and that it usually causes more trouble than it’s worth, it’s probably best for me to leave that one to God.
Anyway, if all of this is just too much to remember in the heat of the moment, I'll just fall back on trying to be kind.
Here is the excellent sermon. It begins at minute 31.
Be Well,
P. Gustav Mueller, author of The Present
Related Posts: