One of the occupational hazards of pastoral ministry is that you are often the subject of people's destructive criticism, gossip, slander, misrepresentation, foolish inferences, ignorant speculations, and the like. And any pastor who's being honest with himself - even a hard-nosed guy like me - will admit that the hurtful things people say are just that - hurtful. They hurt.
How do you heal the hurt? How do you prevent the hurt from festering, from becoming a root of bitterness toward your enemies?
The answer is to remember this: you are far worse than your enemies make you out to be! They don't know the half of it.
Now they may not be correct or truthful in what they are saying about you, but you (and your spouse) could tell them things about yourself that would make their mouths hang open in shock and disbelief. You could tell them things about yourself that would make their petty criticisms pale in comparison. After all, what is wrong with you is so wrong, that it took the one perfect person who ever lived to die for you and suffer God's wrath for you. Keep Reading...
No comments:
Post a Comment