June 19, 2008

I am being tested today, I think. Last Sunday in church the sermon was about loving your "neighbors." It was actually a very good sermon and one of those things that I feel we all need to work on. It's very easy to have kindness in your heart for the people we like. Not so easy for people who you don't like. And, even harder to do for those who have hurt you.

There is a person I know that really hurt me today. No one in my family or that I am remotely close to. I have a hard time liking this person in the first place. It's a person on one of my email groups. Generally, I tend to just not read what this person posts because I do not like the way the person responds to people. I figure it's just a personality clash and there's no reason to make anyone feel bad because I just don't get this person.

Today however, when I responded to another person's post, my words were attacked. Even when I tried to explain that I did not mean things the way they were taken, this person refused to believe me. I should have left it at that and worked on myself and just did what I could to find some kindness in my heart for this person. Instead I blew up and allowed this person to drag me into a very heated and ugly argument.

So, the whole "Love your Neighbor as Yourself" thing, although it's a big thing with me, (especially since Christians have such a bad reputation about being hypocrites in this area) it's still something I struggle with. I am working on this.