Poor Little Me...

“If I get the last words in, that’ll really show them who’s boss!”…“I’m not giving him the benefit of the doubt, he’s too far gone for that!”…“She doesn’t deserve my sympathy after what she did to me!”…“If I give them the cold shoulder then maybe they’ll understand how upset I really am!”  These thoughts are what I would like to distinguish as the “poor little me,” thoughts.  Many of us can probably say that we have had these thoughts from time to time. When someone hurts us, our automatic reaction is to hurt them back. I know this, because I have felt these “poor little me” thoughts many times in my life. 

But, is this what our Heavenly Father wants from us? Jesus said, “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.” (Luke 6:35, NASB). Our natural desire is to fight back during times of conflict, but Christ wants us to master that desire and act like Him. Do we want to be “sons of the Most High”? Do we want our reward to be great? If this is what we hope for, then we must set aside these “poor little me” thoughts and start thinking as Christ would.

Everyone faces conflicts in some shape or form, but the way we react to them is what sets us apart from regular people as “sons of the Most High”. When conflicts come our way, instead of thinking about the “poor little me” inside, let’s think about what our Lord would do. That means whenever I, or my loved ones are hurt, persecuted, reviled, or mistreated in any way…ANY WAY, I cannot take revenge, because in my revenge, all I prove is that I am like anyone else, and not a son of the Most High! Instead, when enduring any kind of conflict, let us give a smile instead of a cold-shoulder, a helping hand rather than a vengeful shove, and a tender, loving heart in place of a hateful one. So, next time we face the decision of revenge vs. compassion, let us make the right choice, and turn to the example of Christ.