My pastor preached a sermon recently on relationships and he brought up the saying ” one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. That’s the way it can go in relationships if we don’t treat each other right. But I was thinking a little more deeply about this, especially in our relationships at work or even with God. It is human nature that if we don’t feel valued, we will move on to something else, which is how I was feeling last week. But Jesus taught us differently about how to do these types of relationships. Let’s explore a little further.
Matthew 5:44 is a very sobering verse when it comes to relationships. It says love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (or are seeming to persecute you). The meaning of persecute in the Cambridge English Dictionary is to treat unfairly over a period of time because of their belief etc. However, we can perceive we are being persecuted just by perceiving or knowing we are being treated unfairly.
We can’t always pick those we work with or those in our classes or even those that play the same sport. What we can choose is how we will treat those who treat us unfairly or who we perceive as treating us unfairly. Oftentimes people are just people – they are making decisions and just doing what they feel. For those that have no relationship with Jesus, these decisions are made harder because they can’t rely on the wisdom of God. So we must pray for them to make the right decisions.
But God always has a plan in these times. Just like Joseph in the prison, Daniel in the lions den and Jesus in the midst of hell, there is a way out. Most of the time it is just believing Jeremiah 29:11 – that God has a good plan for your life and He will fulfill it. I am sure Joseph felt like “trash” in the prison. But Joseph kept a good attitude and made the most of his current situation. He knew God had given him a dream and God would fulfil it in His own time. All Joseph had to do was believe God and love people – even his enemies. Joseph never gave up and went from a prisoner to second in charge of the land in a few hours. If God can do that for Joseph, He can do it for you and me. We just need to follow Joseph’s formula, which is the commandments of God.
Jesus told us our commandments were to love God and love others. If we keep a good attitude, we can turn others lives around from trash to treasure. Just think what a privilege that is.
This week, remember that first you are valuable to God, no matter what others say. Then once you have that sorted, just love others and turn their lives from trash to treasure. Keep living the life God intended for you. Bless you heaps!!!
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