Revileth Not In Return

The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil. – Proverbs 15:28

As a pastor, I have been (at times) led by the Holy Spirit to lead in ways that were not well-received by some "members" of the church. The result was that some "gushed evil." For example, over the decades I have been called (among other names) an "arrogant dictator" and a "bulldozer." One very refined, elderly lady once told me that "every dog has his day and that my day was coming." Another fellow who had decided to leave our fellowship responded (when I inquired as to the reason for his departure) that his wife said I couldn't preach. Then he said that he disagreed with her. He felt that I could preach when I wanted to! I was once even told that I was not worth the dynamite to blow me all to ____ (fill in the blank).

I have always tried my best to not react to insensitive, hurtful comments, to “weigh my answers,” but I wasn't always able to succeed. Still, I am reminded of the Christian leader who, when asked by a young protégée` why he did not defend himself against the vicious attacks of another, said, "O, dear sir, if he only knew the true darkness of my sinful heart, then what could he say?"

We are all flawed, and only able to serve by the grace of God. I probably deserved many of the rebukes that I received, and each one made me “a little more like Jesus and a little less like me.” So, if you take nothing else away from moments like those I have recalled, be reminded of your own frailty and faults and seek evermore to be like Jesus who when reviled, revileth not in return.

We must carefully forget ourselves, so that we regard ourselves as an object which has been sold and over which we no longer have any rights. - Jean-Pierre de Caussade