Bless the Bullies~

May the Force, which is Jesus, be with you!

One of the reasons I love the DEVOs is because of all the stuff I learn. When I give a shout out to God to inspire me, He sometimes bangs me on the head with a powerful passage that really opens my eyes to areas where I need improvement.

For example: These past few days we have seen the importance of blessing ourselves and others, and how crucial it is to ask God to label our kids with His unending myriad of magnificent names so that all the junk thrown their way won't stick.

I think of a time when one of my children felt a little self-conscious about the size of her ears. Ooops! I guess you all know I am talking about Rayray Urgell.

It didn't help that some elementary school punkaroos called her names.

And then there was the time that a girl made fun of Jorgie way back when he had buck teeth. (See proof below) They were so bucked, in fact, that rabbit mothers regularly knocked on our door asking for us to return their son to them.

Nevertheless, Hormone responded with a worse insult--something I can not include here--and caused a ruckus that resulted in my having to meet with the school and the upset parent. Never mind that Hormone had taken a powerful hit to his self-esteem.

In both these situations it was a powerful thing to pray over my children. It was also very reassuring to them that God saw them as absolutely perfect and so precious that He lay claim to them by putting His name right on them. That they were made in His image and no one else's.

Which brings me to the whole topic of blessing someone. It's easy to bless those we love--to take the time to encourage and affirm them when they question their worth. But God has such high standards. He expects us to, "Bless those who persecute you [who are cruel in their attitude toward you]; bless and do not curse them." Romans 12:14

Really?

Yes...

And here is where God hit me between the eyes of my own self-righteousness--something I have been guilty of for a long time. He whispered this to my heart, and I trust you will accept into your own as well.

"Yenisita, when someone mistreats you, when they make fun of you, when they criticize you, when they are abrasive, when they are selfish, when they misunderstand you and make no attempt to get you, when they are downright cruel, blessing them instead of cursing them puts My powerful name on them, and that is the first start toward a changed life--a life where they themselves will turn into blessers of others and not cursers!"

People, don't you see? In the end, it is better to lay aside your anger--no matter how justified--and bless your enemies because with God's name on them their meanness will eventually turn to niceness. Their abuse will turn to gentleness. Their biting ridicule will turn into words of life.

I so wish I had thought to tell my kids that those verbal bullies needed blessing and not retaliation. What a powerful teaching moment it would have been. But moving forward we all know that blessing folks--even the persecutors--leads to a better life for them and for us.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Give us the strength to bless those who mistreat us knowing that as we do You are changing their lives and ours for the better! In Jesus' name, AMEN~