LISTEN ONLINEGeorge was working on a construction job in the heat of the summer when someone living nearby walked into the industrial park where he was working. Clearly angry, the man began to curse and criticise everything about the project and how it was being done. George received the verbal blows without response until the angry man stopped yelling. Then he gently responded, “You’ve had a really hard day, haven’t you?” Suddenly, the angry man’s face softened, his head dipped and he said, “I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you.” George’s kindness had defused the other man’s wrath.
There are times when we want to strike back. To give abuse for abuse and insult for insult. What George modelled instead was a kindness seen most perfectly in the way Jesus bore the consequences of our sins: “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23).
All of us will face moments when we’re misunderstood, misrepresented or attacked. We may want to respond in kind, but the heart of Jesus calls us to be kind, to pursue peace and display understanding. As He enables us today, perhaps God could use us to bless someone enduring a hard day.