Dear Friend,
There is this slogan that says, “It’s a jungle
out there.” I’ve never really given any thought to what the meaning was until today. "It's a jungle out there" is an idiomatic English expression describing a dangerous and threatening situation. It often has the broader implication that
the entire world is the proverbial "jungle," a dangerous environment filled with hazards in which all parties are out only for themselves. In other words, the real world is severe. My interpretation sparked from a situation where you have to acknowledge the “haters” in your life. Yep, all of us have some haters! A hater is someone that is jealous and envious and spends all their time trying to make you look small so they can look tall. When you make your mark, you will
always attract some haters. That’s why you have to be careful who you share your blessings and your dreams with because some folk can’t handle seeing you blessed! But how do you handle your haters so that you won’t abort the blessings that God has for you? How do you handle your haters so that you don’t miss the opportunities that have been scheduled for your life? First, you must
recognize our biggest hater is SATAN! He hates us because we look like God, act like God and have been given the power as believers to function in a role of authority. He hates us because we can stand boldly in resistance to him and he has to flee! Please understand haters don’t want to see you happy. Haters don’t want to see you succeed. Haters don’t want to see you get the victory. You can handle it when your haters are your enemies, but how do you handle the haters who you least expect to have your guard up against? First of all Luke 6:27-31 teaches us that our response to difficult people should center on the examples provided by Jesus, for He surely
dealt with many “haters” during His time here on earth. His interactions with these people were never with an attitude of superiority or dominance, but rather one of subservience. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was quite specific: “But
I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” My mama would say, “That’s a hard pill to swallow!” Philippians
2:3-4 gives some advice similar to that of the passage by Luke, and just as difficult to follow. This is Apostle Paul writing to the Christians in
Philippi, when he tells them to “do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Furthermore, Proverbs 12:16 tells us that “a fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent
man overlooks an insult.” Chapter 13 of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians contains a description of true Christian love—it is to be patient and kind.
Putting all this together, the way to deal with difficult people or your haters is to love them, pray for them, expect to give rather than to receive, maintain a humble spirit, and relate to them in patience and kindness. But more important
is the need to pray for the Spirit’s power to change our own hearts and minds toward the difficult person and enable us to see them as needing the same love, grace and mercy that God extended toward us. Luke 23:34-39 shows Jesus forgiving the men who were killing Him! The way to deal with difficult people or “haters,” is to imitate Christ’s humility and love. That kind of response is
both edifying to us and pleasing to the Lord. Another way to overcome your haters is by being confident in your purpose. When you understand your purpose you can focus without being distracted. When you have a purpose you know
who you are and whose you are. When you have a purpose you know where you’re going. A purpose is having a clear sense of what God has called you to be! You can also handle haters by knowing something about them. Why should we let people who can’t get it together, keep us from having it together? Before we give attention to folks, check out their history (marriage) can’t get along with their own spouses telling you how to get along with yours; can’t keep a friend telling you how to get a friend. Does any of these sounds familiar? Ha ha!
In closing, most haters don’t even know why they
hate you! They have no viable reason. Through study of the Word, however, we can locate the answer: When the blessing is operating in your life, and others can see that; it often results in a spirit of envy, which provokes hatred. Envy is
a tactic of the enemy that is specifically designed to steal, kill, and destroy. As Believers, we must guard against this demonic spirit and refuse to
give it place in our lives! The primary way to
guard against envy (so we won’t become a hater) is to purpose in our hearts to not ever compare ourselves to anyone else. Comparison opens the door to the spirit of envy. Also we must recognize it as a work of the flesh and immediately deal with it when we feel envy trying to creep into our hearts towards someone. When we feel the enemy trying to attack us with a spirit of envy immediately
rebuke it and refuse to yield to it! 1 Peter says we should “lay aside” malice, envy, jealousy, slander and evil speaking. Envy allowed to go unchecked will absolutely destroy our lives! If you are dealing with some people “hating” on you, keep in mind that the blessing in your life is what the enemy is
attacking, not you as a person. God has given us every tool to be victorious in our lives. We have the Word of God and the Holy Spirit helping us every step of the way. Haters may hate, but when God’s blessing is in operation success is an
inevitable result.
Let’s pray:
“Heavenly Father, I find myself at the
beginning of another day. I do not know what it will bring. Please help me to be ready for whatever it may be. I know You are with me in every
transition and change. I enter into this day with excitement and even some anxiety, but I’m reminded of your deep compassion, presence, and abounding love. I thank You for the gifts, talents and skills with which you have blessed me. I even thank You for the experiences that have brought me to this moment. I thank You for the work of others that gives breadth and depth
to my own work. I ask that You be with me today as I rejoice while carrying out your plan. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen!”
Two Simple Nuggets
1. "When people disappear from your life, let them. It could be God’s way of removing the seeds
that would have come up weeds!"
2. "Jealousy is when you count someone else's blessing instead of your own!"
FYI: "Never waste your time trying to explain who you are to people who are committed
to misunderstanding you!"
There is this slogan that says, “It’s a jungle
out there.” I’ve never really given any thought to what the meaning was until today. "It's a jungle out there" is an idiomatic English expression describing a dangerous and threatening situation. It often has the broader implication that
the entire world is the proverbial "jungle," a dangerous environment filled with hazards in which all parties are out only for themselves. In other words, the real world is severe. My interpretation sparked from a situation where you have to acknowledge the “haters” in your life. Yep, all of us have some haters! A hater is someone that is jealous and envious and spends all their time trying to make you look small so they can look tall. When you make your mark, you will
always attract some haters. That’s why you have to be careful who you share your blessings and your dreams with because some folk can’t handle seeing you blessed! But how do you handle your haters so that you won’t abort the blessings that God has for you? How do you handle your haters so that you don’t miss the opportunities that have been scheduled for your life? First, you must
recognize our biggest hater is SATAN! He hates us because we look like God, act like God and have been given the power as believers to function in a role of authority. He hates us because we can stand boldly in resistance to him and he has to flee! Please understand haters don’t want to see you happy. Haters don’t want to see you succeed. Haters don’t want to see you get the victory. You can handle it when your haters are your enemies, but how do you handle the haters who you least expect to have your guard up against? First of all Luke 6:27-31 teaches us that our response to difficult people should center on the examples provided by Jesus, for He surely
dealt with many “haters” during His time here on earth. His interactions with these people were never with an attitude of superiority or dominance, but rather one of subservience. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was quite specific: “But
I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” My mama would say, “That’s a hard pill to swallow!” Philippians
2:3-4 gives some advice similar to that of the passage by Luke, and just as difficult to follow. This is Apostle Paul writing to the Christians in
Philippi, when he tells them to “do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Furthermore, Proverbs 12:16 tells us that “a fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent
man overlooks an insult.” Chapter 13 of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians contains a description of true Christian love—it is to be patient and kind.
Putting all this together, the way to deal with difficult people or your haters is to love them, pray for them, expect to give rather than to receive, maintain a humble spirit, and relate to them in patience and kindness. But more important
is the need to pray for the Spirit’s power to change our own hearts and minds toward the difficult person and enable us to see them as needing the same love, grace and mercy that God extended toward us. Luke 23:34-39 shows Jesus forgiving the men who were killing Him! The way to deal with difficult people or “haters,” is to imitate Christ’s humility and love. That kind of response is
both edifying to us and pleasing to the Lord. Another way to overcome your haters is by being confident in your purpose. When you understand your purpose you can focus without being distracted. When you have a purpose you know
who you are and whose you are. When you have a purpose you know where you’re going. A purpose is having a clear sense of what God has called you to be! You can also handle haters by knowing something about them. Why should we let people who can’t get it together, keep us from having it together? Before we give attention to folks, check out their history (marriage) can’t get along with their own spouses telling you how to get along with yours; can’t keep a friend telling you how to get a friend. Does any of these sounds familiar? Ha ha!
In closing, most haters don’t even know why they
hate you! They have no viable reason. Through study of the Word, however, we can locate the answer: When the blessing is operating in your life, and others can see that; it often results in a spirit of envy, which provokes hatred. Envy is
a tactic of the enemy that is specifically designed to steal, kill, and destroy. As Believers, we must guard against this demonic spirit and refuse to
give it place in our lives! The primary way to
guard against envy (so we won’t become a hater) is to purpose in our hearts to not ever compare ourselves to anyone else. Comparison opens the door to the spirit of envy. Also we must recognize it as a work of the flesh and immediately deal with it when we feel envy trying to creep into our hearts towards someone. When we feel the enemy trying to attack us with a spirit of envy immediately
rebuke it and refuse to yield to it! 1 Peter says we should “lay aside” malice, envy, jealousy, slander and evil speaking. Envy allowed to go unchecked will absolutely destroy our lives! If you are dealing with some people “hating” on you, keep in mind that the blessing in your life is what the enemy is
attacking, not you as a person. God has given us every tool to be victorious in our lives. We have the Word of God and the Holy Spirit helping us every step of the way. Haters may hate, but when God’s blessing is in operation success is an
inevitable result.
Let’s pray:
“Heavenly Father, I find myself at the
beginning of another day. I do not know what it will bring. Please help me to be ready for whatever it may be. I know You are with me in every
transition and change. I enter into this day with excitement and even some anxiety, but I’m reminded of your deep compassion, presence, and abounding love. I thank You for the gifts, talents and skills with which you have blessed me. I even thank You for the experiences that have brought me to this moment. I thank You for the work of others that gives breadth and depth
to my own work. I ask that You be with me today as I rejoice while carrying out your plan. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen!”
Two Simple Nuggets
1. "When people disappear from your life, let them. It could be God’s way of removing the seeds
that would have come up weeds!"
2. "Jealousy is when you count someone else's blessing instead of your own!"
FYI: "Never waste your time trying to explain who you are to people who are committed
to misunderstanding you!"