Heartbreaking.
Watching someone you love spiral into a deeper self focused pit of anger...helpless. There is no recourse. You simply stand with your mouth shut and let their foolish, unfounded anger do what it feels it must do. “A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back.” Proverbs 29:11
The damage? Catastrophic.
You mourn...the loss of a friendship, a partnership. The way it affects the people so close to the relationship...especially children.
Unfortunate truth: so many are more drawn to, supportive of, and actually believe the sickening drama that stems from the full vent of ones dishonest, accusatory, slanderous statements than they are the years and years of proven love and long-suffering demonstrated toward that person by the very people that are maliciously being slandered.
Gut wrenching.
So what lesson could one take away from this type of sinful situation?
We (I) must stop obeying only portions of scripture!
For at least the last eight years, but I'm certain it's been longer, I have pressed in hard and obeyed the scriptures that would possibly bring the most "feel good" response for the moment.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.” Matthew 5:38-42
Result? I've turned my cheek to this one particular person so many times I have no flesh left to slap. Appeasing someone's sin just to keep them happy and obtain momentary peace gives way to imminent destruction.
The Lord prompted me to 2 Timothy 3 so, SO many times...but it was too hard. Too harsh. Too permanent.
“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, proud, arrogant...ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people...they are always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth...But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all....” 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 7-9
I was scared to be obedient to the hard stuff. Listen...the Lord separated many partnerships in scripture. Many. If we are unwilling to do the hard and obey His promoting, He'll do it His own self and it won't be pretty. Many will be struck as His mighty arm swings. Point taken. Lesson learned. I hope!
As a few of us clung so very tightly to 1 Peter 4:8, because our love was great...both for the person and for the Lord, our focus was off.
“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”
1 Peter 4:8
We loved for the purpose of covering (original word means: "to hide, to veil, to hinder the knowledge of a thing") over all of this person's hatefulness and mistreatment of others...thinking we could "cover all". How prideful of us. A "multitude" is a lot, but it's not ALL! And if we, by continuing to love, had the ability to cover all sins, why would we need the cross? Our focus was on our ability to cover, not His.
Singling this passage out from the entirety of the Bible would indeed lead us to believe that is what we are to do. But in context of full scripture, from cover to cover, there is but only One who covers ALL sin. His name is Jesus.
So, in the midst of living this life God has placed us here to live, may we stop doing the easy and press forward in doing the hard. And as we're snuggled up in those Bible verses that when stood alone all by themselves gives us what we view as permission to turn a blind eye to the sins of others and our own selves, let's be obedient and put them back in full context. Even when it's uncomfortable and might break apart an earthly friendship. Because truthfully, if being obedient to scripture breaks it apart, it was unhealthy and not of God anyway.
Earthly love will cover, until it doesn't.
