you can't let it bust your balloon. Not everyone is gonna like what you have to say. I know. Not everyone likes what I have to say. It's life. I understand it. You know why? Cause I don't like everything everyone else in the world has to say. But...the beauty of living in America is that we get to say what we want to say cause it is a free country, that is, as long as we endeavor to keep it that way. If a person has any opinion about anything at all, criticism is inevitable.
When we hear it, witness it, or feel it....sometimes, we need to simply ignore it. We shouldn't let the devil get a foothold into our minds. Negativity is not worth the time we give to analyze it, question it, or try to understand it. Like raindrops, we need to let some stuff roll off our backs, wipe away from our faces, and place in the hands of God.
We all have some of those folks in our lives who treat us with disdain. Some see our names, hear our names, or read our names, and hairs stand up on the back of their necks. They are not going to give us one benefit of the doubt. They are not going to listen to a word we say. They have already made up their minds that whatever we do or say is disingenuous, duplicitous, or suspect. They are eager to rain on our parade.
In other words--it doesn't matter if the skies open up and a host of angels begin to laud you--some folks are going to plug their ears, close their eyes and wrinkle their nose. You are not going to be liked by some people. No one can ever accomplish that feat. Remember, even Jesus had his critics. Some people followed him around trying to nit-pick every word He said. His adversaries waited on the fringe of every crowd (sometimes mingling within), to entrap a disciple--to denounce him, or call his actions into question.
In my husband's ministry of nearly 23 years, I can readily call to mind the handful of those kind of people who tried to destroy the work we were doing. While some managed to cause a great deal of aggravation at times, they did not succeed in destroying us--nor the work we did. God was in the details. It took me a few years to discover that naysayers, and irritating forces are few in number. There really is no "they". We allow the few to become an imaginary host by focusing all our energy and attention on the squeaky wheel. Sometimes no matter how much grease you use, the wheel will keep on squeaking. Some wheels are just made that way. It's life. You have to focus on those folks who are receptive--who want your love, who want your help, who appreciate the Light you bring and the sunshine you offer. You have to stand up and be counted for those who want to be heard, too--for those who do not have the microphones, the teleprompters, and bastions of press secretaries to wiggle out of everything they say. And if folks don't want to believe you when you tell them that the sky is not falling, but the gas prices are rising to unreachable standards, then, hey...let them pay ten-bucks at the pump for a gallon of gas, and the rest of us will fight to help them even though they don't want help. Don't get offended.
Forgive them, and go on. Don't miss the rainbows. Sing louder. Smile wider. Praise more. Laugh often. Dance in the rain, even if others want to hide and hover beneath their umbrellas and miss the blessings the Lord has beyond the storm. Just be happy; ya can't please everyone, anyway.
Comments