Further, Luke 6:28-33 states, "Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same."
In my opinion, these are some of God's most challenging, yet rewarding commands. So glad I'm learning to do good and treat people well, even when they have done me wrong. Even better, I am glad I have also learned to love those who find some level of joy in taking advantage of and mistreating me.
I must be honest, in the past when people have done me wrong, my natural instinct was to strike back; and to be totally transparent, there are times right now when I feel the same way. However, I do everything in my human power to not let my pride rise up and begin to return hurt for hurt. Instead, I make every effort humanly possible to stay focused on the word God in Luke 6:31-36, "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful." Trust me, this is not easy to do. But with practice it can be done. And, believe me as soon as you commit to doing so, the enemy is going to try you.
Let me share a story with you about how I know this can be done. Back in 2005, I was sitting at my desk working. Everything in my life going well, so I thought, when the phone rang. On the other end of the phone, a female asked to speak to Tonia. Immediately, I went into "strike back" mode. Why? Because I was in a professional setting and everyone who called referenced me as Ms. Lashley and not Tonia. If we pay attention ladies, the enemy can't sneak up on us.
Immediately I took a deep and thought "Oh Lord, I'm getting ready to get me on!" This young lady proceeded to tell me about her involvement with the guy I was in relationship with at that time. My response to her was, okay, thank you for letting me know. Honestly, that was all I said. Broken hearted with tears in my eyes, that was it.
During the conversation, she was asking specific questions about him. My response was, "I'm not sure, perhaps you should have found all of that out before you ######! Before I could get home and have the conversation with him, she obviously had spoken to him. They were both in total awww that I did not respond with arguing, cursing, threatening and all of the things that come with hurt. What I did say was, "if you think we're going to have telephone conversations back and forth about this, it's not going to happen. You see, I did that in high school"
I was just not going down to that level. My daddy always told me, when someone show you who they really are, believe them the first time. Even though I tried to work with him because remember, I had done the same thing to someone, it was impossible. Why? Because its one thing to have remorse for what you do wrong; but, its something completely different when they do you wrong and then get mad with you because you won't stand for it.
Yes, I felt all of the shame, humiliation, anger, frustration, hurt and so much more. But, it didn't stop me. Instead, it gave me the strength (in one of my weakest seasons) to stand up in God and move forward. I remember my god mother asking me, "what are you going to do now"? I said to her, "I am going to trust God like I never have before." And to this day, that is exactly what I am doing.
Because of His power to redeem hurtful circumstances and memories, I have put my total faith in God because I know He loves both me and my offender. I encourage you to do the same. Not only do I promise you that it can be done, God's word promises the same in Luke 1:37, "For with God nothing shall be impossible."