Saturday, April 5, 2008

 

Unconditional Love Series

 

Matthew 18:18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loosen on earth will be loosened in heaven.” 

 

Weasels Never Win

 

I remember a conversation with Royce, one of the farm hands from long ago.   He remarked about a person of our acquaintance, “Miz’ Mizell is just like a weasel in a chicken house.”   I asked, “What does that mean?”   He said, “Most animals will only kill what they need for food but a weasel in a chicken house kills every chicken in the house if he can.”  In other words, he just destroys unnecessarily.  Miz’ Mizell would say ugly things about anyone and everyone who was in her association.  Nobody wanted to be friends with her because sooner, rather than later, she was going to hurt them in some completely unnecessary way. 

 

There are people like that who hurt unnecessarily.   I believe it is very easy when we are hurt to hurt in response and sometimes hurt completely unnecessarily.  I asked Royce, “What happens to an animal like that who has killed indiscriminately?”  He said, “Once a weasel destroys in this way, it develops a taste for blood and does it time and time again until that weasel is trapped or killed himself.”   I think once people start hurting others it becomes a habit and they do it time and time again.

 

In my life when someone in the church behaves like this I follow the instructions of Jesus.  First, I pray, and then I do as it says in Matthew 18:15, “If your brother sins against you, go and show them their fault just between the two of you.  If they listen to you, you have won them over.”  Jesus proceeded to give practical advice for what Christians should do in a situation with an intentionally hurtful person.   It is tragic to know someone like this.  

 

The greater tragedy however, is if we begin hurting indiscriminately simply because we can.   It is easy to hurt in response to hurt.   When we hurt in response to life, we too, can develop a taste for hurting others until we become like a weasel in a chicken house, hurting indiscriminately.  No one wants to be with people who hurt others and it is very important that we monitor our own souls so that we examine all of our actions and never become like a “weasel in a chicken house.”    A human weasel leaves a wake of destruction that only hurts others. 

 

The best answer when we are hurt is to forgive and love.   Evil often breeds evil.  Forgiveness and love also reproduces forgiveness and love in others.   Weasels never win; only those who love like Christ in the end are victorious.  

 

Prayer:

Dear God, help me to be a person of forgiveness and love and never a person who hurts.  Amen.