By Allen White
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and
falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Matthew
5:11
I
knew a woman years ago who was a chronic complainer. She didn’t feel like
anything in her life ever went right. Even her tone of voice betrayed this
attitude.
If
you’ve ever watched the movie Monsters, Inc. (you’ve either never seen it or
you’ve seen it 5,000 times), there is a character named Roz, who was the clerk
of the company. She would say in a drowl tone, “You didn’t turn in your
paperwork.” This chronic complainer that I’m talking about sounded just like
Roz. For the sake of this devotional, we’ll call her “Roz.” I wouldn’t want to
give her something else to complain about.
Roz
complained about her kids, her church, her life, her health and her job
(substitute teacher) – things were going nowhere good. She didn’t seem to ever
have a good day.
One
day in a class at church, she launched into complaining about the school
district and how they were against her because she was a Christian. They didn’t
call her to sub as much as she would like. They treated her poorly. They acted
like they didn’t even like her. She felt that she was being persecuted because
of Christ. She asked if the class would please pray for the spiritual battle
she was facing.
Then,
someone in the class suggested that maybe she was being “persecuted” for being
a jerk. The amazing thing was that she took those words to heart and immediately
changed her ways. She saw herself as the source of many of her problems and
accepted responsibility for her actions. Roz suddenly became a delight to be
around. People couldn’t get enough of her. Okay, that didn’t happen.
So
now, she was being “persecuted” by her own church. Roz eventually left the
church and joined another church where she could celebrate her glass being
half-full with other persecuted jerks.
Who
are you? Is there spiritual warfare happening around you because of Christ
(Ephesians 6:12)? Or are you in a tough spot because your actions and attitudes
have created a tough spot? I must admit that I have been Roz more than I’ve
been like Christ.
The
blessing doesn’t come from receiving the consequences that we deserve. Blessing
comes from belonging to Christ.
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