No More Tit-for-Tat

Gracious there are times when the Lotd, quite simply, grabs your attention. Not always through some magestical way, but sometimes in the quiet of the morning. I've been very slack in reading and praying through the chaos of my life lately. As I wrote to one friend - does it look like everything is going well in my Facebook posts? - yeah, that shows you how deceiving Facebook is! And for some reason, I shut down when the going gets tough, instead of reaching out to God. And that brings on anxiety. What a vicious circle.

So this morning, after several nights of no sleep, I'm awake in my dimly lit bedroom, reading the Girlfriends in God devotional that I've been ignoring forever. Today's message was good, about those God moments where the overwhelming desire to praise Him can occur in any life moment. And they said to read Psalm 63. 

I opened my Bible app and the verse of the day appeared. I usually glance at the first lines that show but rarely click on it To read the entire passage. Today I clicked. 

“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously. (Luke 6:27-30 MSG)

Two things stand out - (1) To you who are  ready for the truth. (I am often not! And therefore the Lord's message will not be revealed until we are ready!) and (2) If someone takes unfair advantage of you, practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Wwwhhhoooaaa. That's definitely not what society teaches us!! Living the servant life - no society teaches we live to be served. It's ME driven. Not THEE driven. 

So this concept of a servant's life keeps popping up in various places for me. Enough that I am recognizing this message. I pray I can have a servant's attitude because it's definitely not what I currently have. But it is what the Lord wants.