Walking with the Lord, especially in todays’ time, can be very challenging. there may be times when you want to blow the horn at someone, walk out of work, let everyone know the unrighteousness you see and maybe slap that person for how they just yelled at someone whom can’t defend themselves.
I know that for me, I definitely have had my challenges. Working in an environment where the unrighteous practically get away with murder whilst the hard workers and upright are picked on for no reason. Where laziness is rewarded and the ones whom ‘didn’t show up for practice’ get trophies. Yes, this unfortunately is the world we live in. Where people care more about kissing butt than speaking truth. Where people are so worried about offending someone they push responsibility on someone else all in the hopes to remain likeable.
These are a few things I deal with in my work environment. The ones I work for know I will defend the truth, righteousness as well speak my heart without fear. Though I do not fear man, I do my best to hold my tongue and be obedient to the Spirit. I failed recently. Unrighteousness was done unto me and the one whom inflicted it upon me was to coward to say anything directly to me, who then gave the deed to someone else, who then blamed someone else also. All in the hopes of remaining likeable.
That irked me more than anything! When I should have held my tongue and prayed, I spoke very loud at my station about how I felt, I pointed out their people pleasing, their cowardness, their favoritism of those whom actually did wrong, oh I was mad!
And I was no better than them for my reaction.
Let’s rewind a bit. For the last month or two, while driving to work at six in the morning I’ve had trucks with business names written on their doors bully me in the wee hours of the morning. They run up on me, honk horns, and this last one would run up on me put their high beams on then repeat until I got to a stop sign then they sped past me, running the sign and looking like a fool.
Now each time this would happen I would make a mental note and say to myself, ‘I’ll never do business with them!’ The last truck I spoke about with the high beams happened the morning after my extremely immature outburst.
Then God spoke, after I said, ‘I’ll never do business with them.’
He said to me, ‘These men who drive these trucks represent the business that they are driving for. When they act immature, rude and endanger people, you say that you will never do business with them because of that. How do you think others feel when they know you work for me and you reacted the way you did yesterday?’
Oh Lord, just swallow me up! I know better and was utterly ashamed of myself, the fault is no ones’ but my own!
In that time the one whom I represented was Satan himself! Thank the Lord and His good grace and mercy that only three people saw my stupidness! Yet, three to many! When I got to work I apologized to those three people for how I was reacting. I told them that my action did not portray Christ at all and I know better than to be so dumb. They were very kind in receiving me at that moment and I knew that in that moment I was humbling myself and representing the heart of God. If I am choosing to work in a corrupt environment all I can do is pray for those to truly ‘Yadda’ the Lord.
Yes, it is hard when dealing with ‘so called’ Christians whom act like the world and are in a position of authority. But we must remember, For blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Matthew 5:7 When we sow mercy in someone else’s life we in turn sow it in our own life. Thank you Jesus! We cannot bring correction when we ourselves are in need of it. And to say we are fully mature or to say we are more mature than the other goes to show how far we have fallen from the truth. We must strive for perfection. We must be quick to repent (change our ways). We must be just as quick to apologize when we have done wrong and have sinned against our Righteous King.
We are not called to reprimand everyone but only those the Lord has blessed and trusted us with. In doing so we risk chasing people from the Lord rather than to.
At the end of the day we must always ask ourselves, ‘Who did I represent today?’ Was it Christ? Was is self? Or was is Satan? May we all learn to abide by His will and His word. And may we all represent Jesus Christ, especially when it is hardest.
May the God of Heaven and Earth dwell in your hearts and lead you down the path of righteousness daily. May we represent Him so well that they look at us in awe and wonder.