I visited a friend who asked for advice about a problem he was having. A former colleague had moved on and started his own business in direct competition. He had taken some of my friend’s clientele with him. My friend was concerned about the loss of business, but more than that, he was asking about the anger and negative emotions he experienced whenever he passed by his former colleague’s business, or even thought about the situation.
It reminded me of something I experienced years ago, when a team of missionaries from another country wrote to us and asked to join our mission here in the Philippines. After much consideration we decided to invite them, but this meant looking for bigger accommodations, as we would need to have a place for them to live as well. I found a large house, but it needed extensive repairs. We ended up having to replace all the floors because of termite damage, all the water pipes, all the screens, and more. Our mission’s entire savings were invested in this house. Then when they arrived, it quickly became apparent that we had different visions and ideas for the type of mission work we each felt called to do.
I felt that, since they were new in the country, the right thing to do would be to allow them to stay in the house we had recently renovated and moved to, which had cost us everything. We did this, and God did a miracle for us. While it had taken months to find that house, and then months to repair, clean, and prepare it, when I again started house hunting, within one week we found a fantastic house in good condition and in a good location, with everything we needed.
While reading my Bible I came upon this story in Genesis 26 about the Patriarch Isaac (Abraham’s son). You might find the whole chapter interesting, but here is a summary:
Isaac’s tribe had no land of their own; they lived as tenants or guests of different kings and rulers in Canaan. Water is scarce in that part of the world, but the Lord blessed Isaac so that wherever he dug wells he found abundant water. Often, though, the people living around him became jealous and started fighting over the water source. In order to avoid conflict, Isaac moved on again and again, and each time the Lord blessed his efforts to find water and provided for him. Finally, one of the kings who had initially evicted Isaac from his territory came to him to make a pact of peace with him, as he could see that Isaac had God with him and was always blessed, and the king wanted to share in those blessings.
This story helped me to have faith that I was doing the right thing in striving for peace even if it meant significant personal loss. It also motivated me to not give in to feelings of bitterness or anger about the situation, but instead to focus on making sure that I was doing my best to serve and obey God. And the blessings followed. It was amazing!
While I don’t think it’s wrong to stand up for our rights or to look out for our interests, as Christians we have to remember that God is in control. Even if we seem like the loser at times while we stand by our Christian faith and principles, God is more than able to make up for any loss, and it does us no good to harbor anger or bitterness towards others. It’s all in God’s hands anyway!