While we may not want to hear this, many of our spiritual conflicts simply are not going to cease until the character of the Lord Jesus is formed in our hearts. The Father’s goal in delivering us is much more than simply seeing our burdens taken off our backs. Indeed, God is working all things in our lives to conform us “to the image of His Son.” The Father’s purpose in our salvation is that Jesus would become “the first-born among many brethren” (Rom. 8:29). In other words, to realize God’s ultimate victory we must reach toward God’s ultimate goal, which is complete transformation into the likeness of Christ.
~ Francis Frangipane
Be not silent, O God of my praise! For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues. They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause. In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer. So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love. Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is tried, let him come forth guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin! May his days be few; may another take his office! May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow! May his children wander about and beg, seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit! May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil! Let there be none to extend kindness to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children! May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation! May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out! Let them be before the LORD continually, that He may cut off the memory of them from the earth! For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted, to put them to death. He loved to curse; let curses come upon him! He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him! He clothed himself with cursing as his coat; may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones! May it be like a garment that he wraps around him, like a belt that he puts on every day! May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD, of those who speak evil against my life! But you, O GOD my Lord, deal on my behalf for Your Name’s sake; because Your steadfast love is good, deliver me! For I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me. I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust. My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt, with no fat. I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they wag their heads. Help me, O LORD my God! Save me according to Your steadfast love! Let them know that this is Your hand; You, O LORD, have done it! Let them curse, but You will bless! They arise and are put to shame, but Your servant will be glad! May my accusers be clothed with dishonor; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak! With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD; I will praise Him in the midst of the throng. For He stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.
~ King David, in Psalm 109
Oh beloved, it is true.
Each of us struggle with this. Even those whose heart is after their King. We, each of us, will have people who will betray us. They will lie about us. They will pile their own fears and cynicism out on to others in some sort of twisted countertransferance.
Somehow too, it is supposed ‘christians’ who think they are doing a group a favor to take one of the guys on the frontline of loving and caring – and pull him away from the action. They look at what we are doing and have already pre-judged that many of us running hard in the field have to be some sort of fake or whatever.
Then, when they have pulled us out of the work, the one who is most sure about how wrong we are, pours their own venomous self-hatred out on us. Oh… everything is back channel. They communication is quiet – and oh-so-sure of itself. “Yes, he has many positive qualities, but…” The hissing is so quiet, but very familiar, because we have heard the devil do his dividing and slandering and accusing too many times to count.
But then, if we even raise our heads a little bit. If we even ask for mercy. If we try to take even the slightest stand for our family and for good, we are slapped back into our place. Oh, it is generally not the people leading the larger organization, it is the sniveling, snorting, and quivering middle manager type, who has been promoted well beyond their ability.
These types actually think they are doing the organization a favor by getting rid of people who do not fit the invisible mold they have created for the organization. In the interest of being “fair and accurate,” they fling hearsay out over the organization to make sure that our opportunities are dampened. While the only thing that is really wet, is the lips of the technocrat who has gained some sense of “getting the job done.”
These same people will lie, slander, act mercilessly towards us… But, they will pull out the rulebook and slam it in our face if we get even a millimeter outside of their expectations.
Can we see it?
It is totally OK for us to be totally not OK with other people doing what is wrong towards us. However, in every situation like this, there comes a very clear question that needs to be answered:
Who is in charge here?
The answer, of course, is G_d. He is well able to see what is happening to one of His princes or princesses. He is well able to keep injustice from happening to us. He also, as Graham Cooke says “allows in His wisdom what He could easily prevent by His power. He chooses our situations to empower us to rise up in His intentional identity in us and through us. His intention becomes our choice. His intention is our identity. Our choosing, then, is much more powerful than we can imagine.” see: Strength And Honor
How we respond to injustice is just as important as the fact that the injustice is happening. It is totally OK to not be OK with how we are being treated. It is totally OK for us to even complain up the chain of command, and for us to protect the interests and needs of our families. However, it is not OK for us to be getting into the business of doing the same stupid stuff other people are doing.
So, are you on the receiving end of injustice? It is right and even noble for you to be upset by it. However, in your (and this fool of a writer’s) frustration, we have the opportunity to be better than those who will face judgment for their prejudice. We have the opportunity to act like the royalty we already are.
Tonight is your night. Stand for the truth, but do not lower yourselves to others’ level when they do you wrong.
The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity.
~Arthur James Balfour (1848-1930)
