When Not Everybody Wishes You Well

Scripture Verse that caught my attention today: Philippians 4:4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Observation: This passage is from chapter 4, but it follows chapter 3 where Paul says that many “live as enemies of the cross of Christ. I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears.” Paul says “their god is the belly… and their minds are set on earthly things.” Yet Paul says that, for the people of God, our “citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Application: Yesterday I ran across the following quote from former CBS news anchor, Dan Rather:

“One of the most shocking lessons in life is that not everyone wishes you well.”

It is a bit of a shocking discovery. We bump into it (or it bumps into us) in various avenues of life. The reasons for such animosity vary and, at times, are simply baffling. But no matter what reasons are or are not given, the reality remains…not everyone wishes us well. If even Jesus had to face such facts, who are we to think that we deserve to fare any better?

How we respond to such situations will in some ways reflect our ultimate heavenly citizenship. For Paul, four responses are appropriate. First, sadness. He indicates in chapter 3, as listed above, that he has “tears” about such things and, truly, it is sad when people become consumed by ill-will toward another. Years ago I ran into couple like this and, not too long ago I read a newspaper account about them that indicated that they were still wishing ill-will toward others. That really is sad. Second, rejoicing. In today’s passage we are to rejoice always. We need not let anything, even others' ill-will toward us, bring us down. Third, gentleness. By gentleness I do not mean weakness but, rather, exercising whatever power we have or is necessary in a firm but gentle way. In faith and by the Grace of God we can hold steady. Finally, prayers and supplications to God, the source from whom all of our help ultimately comes.

It’s naïve to think that everyone wishes us well. If everyone did wish us well, Jesus would have had no reason to instruct us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. By the same token, Paul would have had no need to instruct us to rejoice always because we would naturally be rejoicing. But since things in life are not always as lovely as we might like, God was gracious enough to give us the means cope with such things.

Prayer: Lord, it seems to be a good morning to pray for those who persecute and for those who feel persecuted, both locally and around the world. And may “the peace of God, which surpasses human understanding, guard [our] hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today included: 1 Kings 15, 2 Chronicles 13-14, Philippians 4)