Seek Good For One Another

Christine Wyrtzen Devotional:

TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES
 
See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men.  I Thessalonians 5:15

   When I invest in a close relationship, I have hopes of reciprocity.  I anticipate that the other person will have a heart for me, that they will listen well, love well, and value me.  When that happens, it's easy for my heart to stay open in their presence.  But let them fail me and my carnal nature rises to the surface.  It's fairly easy to forgive them for the first few offenses but after that, I'm churning to plot a new course.  How painful when any relationship deteriorates but I often contribute to its demise by carrying out small acts of revenge.

    I guess it's human nature to read a verse like today's verse and only think of it in severe terms, like 'an eye for an eye.'  By framing it in these contexts, I feel excused from examining my seemingly small behaviors.  How might I repay evil for evil without being conscious that I'm committing a sin?

• Punish another with my silence.
• Withhold love and praise.
• Do something that's important to them just halfway; being passive aggressive.
• Break a promise and feel that doing it is justified because of how they acted toward me.

    I wonder how many people I've punished when I was ignorant of what might have caused them to fail me in the first place.  Perhaps they didn't listen well because they were preoccupied with a private pain.  Perhaps I failed to get something I wanted, when in fact, the person who made the decision was led by God to promote someone else.  My time for advancement had not yet come.

    It is not my place to punish, yet at the same time, it is right to allow a relationship to suffer the consequences of painful choices.  The first is fueled by revenge.  The second, the laws of sowing and reaping, covering the outcome in prayer.

I lift all offenses to You.  I want to forgive as Jesus did but I also don't want to gloss over what needs exposure.  I release those I love into Your hands for only You understand their actions.  Make me harmless as a dove while wise as a serpent.  Amen