It ain’t easy. To pray for those who hurt you. To forgive those who do you dirty. To not take revenge even when it’s justified. But it’s necessary. My King did it. And He told us to do it too.
(When it comes to revenge, Yah will avenge her children. I have witnessed this many times.)
Short story: This happened when I was verrry lukewarm and living in unrepentant sin. But a small part of me was on the right track.
I had a job back in the day. And I had a supervisor that had it in for me. She was actually a co-worker who got promoted. So we went from colleagues to her having a tad bit of power over me. And for some strange reason she thought I was out for her position…when that was the last thing on my mind. I had a side business I was focusing on that she knew nothing about.
She did some things that caused me grief, and money. She lied to me about a class I was supposed to teach, then gave the class to another lady without telling me, and when I showed up the room was empty, no students. When I asked her about it, she made up some excuse about not thinking I really wanted to teach the class, when she knew that wasn’t the case. So I was hot mad. And she also did some other petty things along the way. So my anger was simmering, coming to a full boil. But I continued to pray for her since I had faith it was the right thing to do.
Then she broke the camel’s back. She gave a summer class of mine away when I had budgeted on having that extra money. And that was it! I made up my mind to go off on her. I know how to cuss a person out without using cuss words, but they get the point regardless. So when I found out, I was on my way to her office, ready to explode on her, ya hear me?
Then something quietly held me back. It was like a little voice that said ‘don’t do it.’ And that was really weird and unusual. She deserved to feel my rage. And I was hot, meaning it’s hard to calm down when I’m that wired. But for another strange reason, I listened. I went back into my office and sat down and just prayed.
That evening she had a stroke. She never made it back to work. She was in the hospital for months. One day I went to see her. She was like a little baby in the hospital room. She could barely talk and people had to feed and bathe her. As much as she had done to me, it hurt me to see her like that. I couldn’t stay long, it was painful. I told her ‘I love you,’ and she said to me, ‘I love you,’ but her speech was slow and distorted, as her muscles were affected. I guess her mind was right, but her body was destroyed. She spoke like Muhammad Ali when he got that disease. And that was the last time I saw her. She died a few months later.
To this day, I THANK GOD for stopping me from going off on her. I was so enraged people would’ve probably heard the altercation. But that is the small part. I would’ve forever carried the guilt of thinking I contributed to her stroke. And thankfully I got to see her before she passed.
~Siona
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. (Matthew 5:44)
But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; (1 Thessalonians 4:9)
And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)
We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. (1 John 3:14)
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? (1 John 4:20)
And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. (1 John 4:21)