Houston, We Have A Problem...

Hello. I don't understand why every astronaut in the universe is only capable of calling Houston to inform them of a problem. It must be depressing to live in Houston, because it seems like there is always something wrong that they are being informed about.

That last paragraph was pointless and completely unrelated to what I want to talk about. I just wrote what came to my mind when I saw the phrase "Houston, we have a problem". Anyway. I don't understand people at all. And this blog post will probably not help (indeed, it very easily could make a few people hate me), but I have to get it out there. You see, I was on the phone with a few unnamed friends the other day, and they started telling me about how they were sending someone else hate-mail because of what this person did to them. The next day, they both went to church (one of them was in the worship band) and sang about God's love and how grateful they are. It might just be me, but I'm pretty sure there's a disconnect there. Jesus said "He who hates his brother has already committed murder in his heart," and (I think it was even in the same passage), he said "The greatest commandment is this: love one another as I have loved you."

If this is true, how can we call ourselves Christ-followers when we openly express hatred to others? Now do not get me wrong, I am not saying I have never been mad at anyone. If you're reading this you know me well enough that you shouldn't think that. But I pray constantly that God will give me the strength to forgive people for when they have wronged me. I've tried hating people, and I've tried forgiving people. Hating is easier to start with, but it becomes a constant burden that weighs you down. Once you forgive someone, once you really do forgive someone, it's like a weight has been lifted that you didn't even know was there. Unfortunately, though, this is incredibly hard to do.

To you two unnamed friends, I am not saying you are wrong in being upset with that other person. Heck, I'M upset with them just because of what they did to you. But hating them and trying to make their life miserable isn't going to help. Sure, it'll make you feel better for a little bit, but is it really worth it? This person is obviously not saved, which means that they do not necessarily hold the same moral standards as you do. Everyone is different in that. But what kind of witness is it when we act exactly like the world tells us to act? The Bible says not to take revenge on others, but to let God take revenge for you. It says that when someone scorns you, be kind to them "for this will be as placing burning coals upon their head." Returning evil with evil doesn't turn out any result except that everybody gets mad. Returning evil with good confuses the crap out of the person that did evil, which makes you feel better and gives you a chance to witness.

I am not asking you to become this person's best friend. In fact, if that happened I might question your sanity. But I am asking you to think about what you do and how it effects not only others, but yourself (I just totally reversed a common phrase there). I have many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many (ETC.) faults, but I also have strengths that God has given me. One of these is that I literally do not hate anyone. That's an impressive claim, but it is simply because I pray that God will give me strength to forgive. And He does. This guy once asked me who I hated, since he had just went on a 5-10 minute rant on the people he hated. My response of 2 words got probably the best reaction out of anything I could've said. Those words: "No one." Then after that, it took me like 5 minutes to convince him that I was being serious. He named off people that he knew had done something that I could hate them for, and for each one the expression on his face became funnier as I told him that I had forgiven all of them. This guy is not saved, and has a lot of doubts where the Bible is concerned. But through my forgiving others, I was given a chance to witness to him. That guy is the younger brother of one of you unnamed friends.

I love both of you, and am always praying for you. You've both been through so much more than I have. But I pray that God will give you the strength to forgive and forget. As Yoda once said (and yes, I know I am quoting a fictional character. Shut up), "Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." Forget the fear part. The rest is valid though... And that's pretty much all I have to say.

Why don't you tell us about those rabbits, George...