Sitting in the kitchen this morning as I read my scriptures, I heard the familiar voices of my two youngest children; not the happy cadence I’m used to; they were raised to a “contentious” pitch. One door slammed. They were having what my English husband would call a *row* (pronounced ra-ow) – it’s what I call a fight.
It got out of control and some references to the quality of sister my young son had – not qualities that would win an award – were expressed. A not so nice, very loud response could be heard from behind that closed door. I then had to raise my voice to the required “I-need-to-be-louder-than-you-to-be-heard” pitch and told them to come to the kitchn. They came in angry and stood defiantly, their egos definitely fired up like fighting Betta Fish.
A quick, silent prayer and we were off!
I told my children to sit down at the table and explained that this is what happens when we put our own interests before the other. We had learned earlier that Pope Gregory I, had a saying that explained who he was: servus serverum Dei. Latin for “I am a servant to the servants of God.”
In addition, the children had just memorized this verse during the week:
Matthew 20:26-28 (NIV) Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.
They had learned that it’s important to put the needs and interests of others ahead of their own.
Know what? I wasn’t reaching them. Anger still smoldered in their eyes. Defiance was laid firmly upon their closed lips.
Weapon number two: pray for each other. Surprise lit their eyes as they recognized this tool and they shook their heads. Not pray for each other!! They could barely stand each other at the moment. Pray for each other?!? How could I be so cruel?
I replied, “The Bible says that we should pray for those who persecute us.”
Scripture number two was laid on the table:
Matthew 5:43-45 (NLT) You have heard the law that says, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies!” Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.
We definitely did not have neighborly feelings going on here. So, I asked them again to pray for each other. Then I got specific; it went something like this:
“Preston, I want you to ask God to bless Erin with a great day; that she will be blessed with joy and peace in her heart, and that she would feel His Presence. Erin, I want you to pray for Preston and ask God to bless him with His Spirit. Pray that he will get done what he’d like to get done today with God’s help. When you are done praying for each other, you can get up from the table.” (Big Smile inserted here.)
Preston was the first one up. “How does your heart feel, Preston?”
“Much better,” he smiled. “I feel better.”
Erin got up next and started to walk away. I expected a bit more because I’m dealing with a teenager. “How do you feel, Erin?”
Her eyes had softened quite a bit and unshed tears sparkled in her eyes. “I feel better.”
“But you are still a bit angry?”
“Yes,” she replied. “With you.”
“Why?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I think I’m tired.” She got up to leave again.
“Erin, come back. We are not done talking. If you have something that is bothering you then you need to talk about it. ‘Do not let the sun go down on your anger.’ It works a lot better if you get it out and we discuss this. That’s how things get resolved.”
After a bit, she admitted that she wasn’t really angry just frustrated. She also stated that she was really tired and maybe that was affecting how she felt.
The Holy Spirit whispered to me and I changed my approach.
“Erin, I just need to tell you that I’m very proud of you. God has grown you into such a beautiful girl inside and out. You have such a good heart and I love you very much. I think you are an awesome person!”
Smiles lit up in her eyes and traveled down to her mouth. She got up and sat on my lap for a nice long hug. We exchanged “I love you’s” and smiles and she went back to her room.
The world was at peace again. And the rest of the day was just great…
Amazement
I am always amazed at how smart My Lord is. He knew that when He said to pray for those who hate you and who persecute you, He wasn’t thinking of the other person only. He was thinking of our hearts, and He knew that the whole thing would change when our own hearts changed.
Pray for those who persecute you. Some of the Wisest Words I’ve heard!
James 1:22-25 (New Century Version) Do what God’s teaching says; when you only listen and do nothing, you are fooling yourselves. Those who hear God’s teaching and do nothing are like people who look at themselves in a mirror. They see their faces and then go away and quickly forget what they looked like. But the truly happy people are those who carefully study God’s perfect law that makes people free, and they continue to study it. They do not forget what they heard, but they obey what God’s teaching says. Those who do this will be made happy.
