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The Punishment You Dish Out
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Luke 6:37 Don’t judge others, and God will not judge you. Don’t condemn others, and you will not be condemned. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.
Listen to the radio broadcast of The Punishment You Dish Out
Download audio fileHow do you respond to people who do the wrong thing? How do you deal with those who hurt you, who don’t like you, who diminish you in some way? Come on, how do you react?
Our most common response? Punishment. Sounds a bit confronting? Stick with me. Someone offends you so you get your back up. Depending on whether you’re a gentler, kinder person or a more confrontational one, you’ll either feel the hurt deeply and withdraw, or come out punching.
However you respond, deep down you’ll condemn them and, in some way or other, find a way to punish them. Perhaps you’ll just withdraw completely, or you might keep thinking bad things about them, or you’ll undermine them, speak ill of them, tell others not to trust them.
There’s a myriad of different responses available to you, but whichever one you choose, it involves retribution, giving them what they, in your estimation, deserve. Unless … well, here’s Jesus on this very thing:
Luke 6:37 Don’t judge others, and God will not judge you. Don’t condemn others, and you will not be condemned. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.
Perhaps that’s a familiar passage of Scripture to you, but how often do you apply it to the people who hurt you, who treat you badly? Jesus is speaking powerfully today into our relationship with those people.
Don’t judge them, don’t condemn them, but forgive them. Because there are consequences in this for you and me, not just in terms of our relationship with those people, not just in terms of our own wellbeing, but in terms of how God will treat us in return. Learn to forgive.
That’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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