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"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you (Matthew 5:44).

Whether it's sickness, death or some other situation, all of us face catastrophe sooner or later. That's a statement of fact, not a question. The only question is, "Whatcha' Gonna' Do When the Roof Falls in?"

Nothing brings out the ugliness in people like trouble. And big trouble can produce big ugliness in people from whom you least expect it. Social media has added to that by creating "Keyboard Warriors," who post things they never would have dreamed of saying to someone in person.

When Covid entered the picture in 2020, it created devastation on a level I've never seen before. Sickness and death would have been bad enough without the rest. But people lined up on two sides of the Covid situation, and the things they said and did to one another were appalling.

Of course, it doesn't take Covid to make people mean and hateful, does it? It's bad enough when trouble comes, but it's even worse when that "trouble" can be laid at the feet of someone who caused it, created it, used it for their benefit, or treated you badly while you were going through it.

What are we to do? If you're like me, your first impulse is to "smack them back." And man, oh man...don't I sometimes want to! But Jesus offers a better alternative (however much it doesn't feel that way) in Matthew 5:44.

We aren't to fight back, or return evil for evil. While loving our enemies seems like a stretch, Christ wasn't talking about feelings; He was talking about action.

Leviticus 19:18 says it best by giving a very specific directive, "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge." Easy? Not even close. Who ever said living for the Lord was easy? Regardless of how you and I feel, however, we're called to a higher standard than those who hurt us.

Challenge for Today: What might happen if we, just for today, chose not to strike out when we're hurt?

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