"People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."
— Mother Teresa
I recently re-found this quote by dear Mother Teresa on a good friend facebook. It was actually not all that long ago that I saw this quote somewhere else. The first time I thought it was good, this time, I thought it would make for a very good study/discussion. Think, this quote could easily be something that Jesus himself would say if he were to describe Christianity. If you were to live like this everyday at all times, you would live a perfect life. Granted, it is likely not possible to live this lifestyle everyday and at all times. We live in a fallen broken world, and we are likewise fallen broken people. Nevertheless, I believe this quote describes exactly what we as Christians are called to be. The quote is rather long, so let's break it down a little bit and see what happens.
“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.”
Oh how simple this one is to succumb to. If we all stop and think I am sure we can think of something that we do that is unreasonable. Many times it may be something that we do when we are stressed, or depressed or hurt. Unfortunately, it seems that many times these unreasonable and selfish acts actually hurt other people. Even worse, sometimes we are so blind to out unreasonable selfishness that we intentionally hurt people – thereby doing something even more unreasonable and selfish. I believe a selfish attitude is something that we run the risk of having, and thus, learning to forgive people that act this way is something we should all learn to do.
Matthew 18: 21-22 “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?' 22 Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'”
“If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.”
I recently re-found this quote by dear Mother Teresa on a good friend facebook. It was actually not all that long ago that I saw this quote somewhere else. The first time I thought it was good, this time, I thought it would make for a very good study/discussion. Think, this quote could easily be something that Jesus himself would say if he were to describe Christianity. If you were to live like this everyday at all times, you would live a perfect life. Granted, it is likely not possible to live this lifestyle everyday and at all times. We live in a fallen broken world, and we are likewise fallen broken people. Nevertheless, I believe this quote describes exactly what we as Christians are called to be. The quote is rather long, so let's break it down a little bit and see what happens.
“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.”
Oh how simple this one is to succumb to. If we all stop and think I am sure we can think of something that we do that is unreasonable. Many times it may be something that we do when we are stressed, or depressed or hurt. Unfortunately, it seems that many times these unreasonable and selfish acts actually hurt other people. Even worse, sometimes we are so blind to out unreasonable selfishness that we intentionally hurt people – thereby doing something even more unreasonable and selfish. I believe a selfish attitude is something that we run the risk of having, and thus, learning to forgive people that act this way is something we should all learn to do.
Matthew 18: 21-22 “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?' 22 Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'”
“If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.”
This may very well be one of the most painful things to endure emotionally as humans. Imagine, you are just trying to be a good person and do the right thing. You are honestly trying to help someone who is struggling, or just be their friend, when someone claims you are doing it to get into a better position somehow. I know this has happened to me and it hurts. This seems to happen a lot when trying to do things for someone of the opposite gender. Think about it. One of your guy friends is seen taking a girl out to coffee or hanging out with her because she needs a friend and someone to talk to. Then, someone accuses the guy of trying to hit on the girl or worse, another guy makes a despicable comment like “Dude, you trying to get into her pants, huh?” This phrase itself has caused me to almost punch people in the face. How hurtful, how sick, how absolutely vile.
Job was accused by Satan himself for worshiping God because he lived a life of prosperity. The rest of the story shows that Job was always an upright, God fearing man.
Job 1:8-10 “Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” 9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.”
“If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.”
It is sad that an honest person may become the victim of evil. It is hard to be honest when we know that people are going to take advantage of us. An example might be when we seek forgiveness for an accident we made and the victim overcharges replacements or sues us rather than forgiving us. We were honest and told them we had caused a problem, and they in turn rip us off. The cheater is being unbiblical and hurtful.
I couldn't biblically describe honesty better than this site without much effort: http://www.christinyou.net/pages/honesty.html
“If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.”
Job was accused by Satan himself for worshiping God because he lived a life of prosperity. The rest of the story shows that Job was always an upright, God fearing man.
Job 1:8-10 “Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” 9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.”
“If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.”
It is sad that an honest person may become the victim of evil. It is hard to be honest when we know that people are going to take advantage of us. An example might be when we seek forgiveness for an accident we made and the victim overcharges replacements or sues us rather than forgiving us. We were honest and told them we had caused a problem, and they in turn rip us off. The cheater is being unbiblical and hurtful.
I couldn't biblically describe honesty better than this site without much effort: http://www.christinyou.net/pages/honesty.html
“If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.”
Ah, jealousy, now there is a big topic that is being thrown into a small section of a blog. I have a tough time with this one because if a person is genuinely happy and not gloating or rubbing their happiness in, I find it hard to not be happy with them. If someone is boastful of their happiness, I am angry at them, not jealous. I personally try to spread my happiness to other people. What is the sense in being happy alone? I suppose in attempts to spread happiness we may accidentally cause people to be jealous, or to be envious, but that is, as the quote implies, their problem. Don't worry, be happy.
Matthew 25:21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”
Matthew 25:21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”
In an effort to make shorter blogs, I am going to stop the analysis of the quote now. I will finish it in the next post. Instead, I would like to focus a few more words on jealousy. The Bible speaks clearly on the topic numerous places throughout. The verse I am going to use now is :
Galatians 5:26 “Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
I think this verse best captures what I am trying to say. It also relates to the idea of your happiness causing jealousy. You can take happiness and joy and use it in the wrong way – provoking one another. Jealousy also leads to pride. People have committed probably every single sin imaginable with jealousy in their heart. Murder, adultery, theft, lying, and gossip to name a few. Being the root of many sins, it's no surprise the Bible talks about it so much. As a matter of fact, God Himself is a jealous God, and demands that we have no other gods or idols. This is why it is important that we are always humble in our happiness and joy. To do otherwise may cause our fellow Christians to stumble in many unforeseen ways.
Consider how Mother Teresa's quote applies to your life. And check back soon for part 2.
Your friend, brother, and companion in Christ,
-Zach Haas
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