By Eli

Read: Deuteronomy 7:1-8:20, Luke 7:36-8:3, Psalm 69:1-18, Proverbs 12:1

Those who hate me without cause outnumber the hairs on my head. Many enemies try to destroy me with lies, demanding that I give back what I didn’t steal.
Psalm 69:4

Relate:
Sometimes, because we live in a world of sin, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the number of people who dislike us, or rather in this excerpt of scripture, hate us without reason. This is a common consequence of sin’s effects on the world and is common in many cultures. However, it’s important to take a step back and understand why we may be getting these reactions from people. It’s a well-known fact that humans are an insecure species. We seek approval in everything we do, and it’s normally not from God. When we don’t get the approval we crave, we tend to demean others to feel better about ourselves.

React:
So, you may be asking yourself, how can we react when we encounter this hatred without cause in daily life? Well, I like to ask myself, like many before me, “WWJD?” Jesus, in his time on earth, had no shortage of hatred from others without reason. Or, for petty reasons rather. Every single time, without fail, when Jesus encountered this hatred, he would continually turn the other cheek and forgive. See, the best thing you can do in a situation where someone seems to dislike you for no reason at all is to love them like Jesus loved us. Jesus said we are to forgive 77 times 7. Though this 77 times 7 is able to be calculated as a finite number, it’s not at all what Jesus was implying. He was implying infinite forgiveness, just as he forgave us infinitely for our sins through His death on the cross.

Respond:

Dear Lord,
Help me to respond with forgiveness. Help me to forgive as I was forgiven and as I do, let their hatred simply dissipate.
Amen