Many people say that people are in our lives for a reason,
season, or a lifetime. If we carry this attitude in our relationships with
people, we can miss a lot of blessings. It can also breed selfishness. Why do I
say this? If we have a spirit of love towards everyone, we don’t have to spend
all of our time focused on how long a person is in our life. Most people
classify people like that is because they have a motive of their own. This is not
to condemn anyone; we should always have a spirit of love and generosity
towards people. No matter how long a person stays in your life, treasure the
time with them and don’t cut them off unless you really need to regulate or
terminate the relationship (especially if they’re taking you down a path that’s
contrary to Scripture). Sadly, we terminate relationship because of trivial
things (I could write the numerous trivial things, but it’s not relevant to
this post) and our own selfishness. Think about it, Jesus didn’t cut Judas out
of His life. Judas cut himself off by betraying Him and taking his own life.
Jesus really wanted Judas to repent and He still showed compassion towards him.
If the truth be told, the Kingdom of God
is centered on relationships. Yes, He is the Lord of the Harvest but we need to
understand that our breakthrough, our increase, our open and closed doors are
hinged on someone. Many times we miss that blessing because we don’t want to
get along with people or we’re judging them because they appear different than
you. Some of us are holding on to Bitterness, Unforgiveness, and Grudges (what
I call the BUG syndrome), which is a great hindrance to our blessings. What we
need to understand is that the one who annoys you totally can be the very one
who has your breakthrough. This is why we need to follow God’s lead and not our
own! Let’s look at Luke 6:38, it says “Give and it shall be given unto you;
good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall MEN
give into your bosom.” Notice that it didn’t say shall God. I need to say this:
sometimes we miss a blessing because of pride. Someone reading this post needs
to swallow their pride and ask for help or prayer, or not look down on people
because they don’t have a title. Some of those people you look down on could
actually have your blessing. Remember pride goes before destruction. That
selfish spirit of “I can do it by myself” or “I’m to have all the answers”
needs to go! In summary of this paragraph, there will be people who mistreat
you. Don’t think for one minute that it’s not God. They could be, but we need
to learn to get along with others and relate to people (now I’m not saying to
kiss up to people – many of you know me and how I feel about that). Always
remember, the righteous will never be forsaken!
Another problem is that we’re trying to determine our
blessings on our own terms. Most blessings come when we are united with other
brothers and sisters as we’re helping each other with our God-given
assignments. And to think, God gave us all of the resources we need. He didn’t
drop anything from the sky. A little side-note: there will some people who will
be complacent and not put their hands to the plow when it comes to their
assignment, while still praying for a blessing from God. He can do all things,
but He won’t do your assignment for you. As I just mentioned, He has given us
the resources so we can complete our respective assignment. My assignment
affects you, and your assignment affects me and they both make us better and
more effective to the world.
In closing: relationships are critical. Always treat people
with respect and with God’s love. Philippians 2:3-4 says this: Don’t do
anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble
toward one another, always considering others better than yourselves. And look
out for one another’s interests, not just for your own.
This is why we need to be led by His Spirit (walking and
living by faith) and not be moved by what we see in front of us!
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