When People Are Not Honest

I used to laugh as a pastor and tell people from the pulpit that if they were "stabbin me in the back, it was cool, I had a big back, and they weren't stabbin somebody else, who maybe couldn't handle it as well."  Only guess what, not everybody is big and just comes right up to your face and says, "hey, I don't like you and what you said, (or did)." 

Now what happens is, they do
something on the sly, they tell little inuendos about
you.  Nothing big where someone would get all
excited and say, "well gosh I can't believe you'd
say something like that about them."  No no, they
are much slicker than that, they jab the blade in
a little at a time- makes 'em feel big I guess, I
don't know- I try not to go down that road - but-
and here's where it gets weird- it's hard not to.

This is maybe something that you face as a person
who wants to walk with Christ.  As you get closer to
Christ, the forces which can seek to drag you away from
His power, try their best to do it, because really, at
the final bell, who's opinion counts?

Now I know how that is easy to say,

but hard to live- ultimately though,

if we can keep from striking back, keep from becoming

small minded little insignficant people such as those who

don't have guts enough to say things derogatory to

your face, but rather, destroy you behind your back,

if you can become larger than they and not strike back,

Jesus will empower that effort. 

No I don't really understand what that means,

only that it can happen

and you can actually get to where arrogant and ignorant

people who believe they can destroy you, are really

only, sadly, destroying themselves.  At that point you

begin to do what it seems Jesus was frequently doing-

you go off somewhere by yourself and ...pray.