People can be very disappointing. Especially Christian people.
I have been a Christian for almost 30 years, and in that time, I have watched people who I thought were really great Christians do some really rotten stuff. I have seen people walk away from the church and the faith because of the rotten things Christians have done.*
So how do we deal with the “rotten” that we see? Because, unfortunately, it WILL happen. For most of you reading this, it already HAS happened. And maybe you’ve thought about just giving up on this whole “Christian” thing because it just doesn’t seem to work.
My answer, in this case, is something I’d advise against in other circumstances: Think about yourself.
I know it sounds simplistic. But hang with me.
You are responsible before God for YOUR heart. And God commands us to love Him with all of our hearts (all our minds and strength, too). In order to do that, we have to surrender all of ourselves to Him. Daily. We have to give HIM control over our hearts.
When the Holy Spirit controls our hearts, we can remain firm when others are shaken. But when we don’t give Him control, our hearts are vulnerable. Our faith is tied, not to the Creator, but to His creation. And when they fail, we falter.
I’m not saying you won’t be disappointed by others or that you won’t be hurt. Having hearts surrendered to God doesn’t insulate us from hurt. But it does give us a Rock to cling to when we are hurting. He is a shelter in the storm, our strong tower, our ever present help in times of trouble. In fact, when disappointment hits, we need God more than ever, not less. Don’t turn from him, turn to him.
Because one day, you will stand before Him. Do really want to have to say, “Sorry I didn’t talk with you much, God. But it wasn’t my fault. It was those others…” I promise you, when that time comes, when you see Jesus face to face, you’ll wish you’d spent every minute of your life worshipping Him, because, at that moment, you’ll know nothing is more worthy than that.
*There are times when WE are the ones who disappoint others. How do we deal with being the “disappointer”? I’ll address that in my next post.
