When People Do You Wrong
Yesterday, shortly after I parked my truck at work and entered the building, someone stole my truck:
As part of life in a world where people do foolish things, and where people don’t mind hurting or taking advantage of others as long as it benefits them, we are going to encounter moments that are stressful, challenging, and uncomfortable.
As our team came back from lunch together yesterday, we noticed that my truck was not in its normal place. My teammates were laughing at the situation because they thought I had forgotten where I had parked. I was laughing at them because I thought they were playing a prank on me. But when we got to the security/loss prevention office, we all stopped laughing when we saw the footage of a suspicious vehicle and someone stealing my truck right after I had parked and entered the building.
I called the Sheriff’s Office and as we waited, we gathered the footage and placed it on a USB thumb drive for them. Our team ran copies of it through various video enhancement and license plate identification systems while we waited, and our head of LP leverage some of his specific knowledge, skills and contacts on my behalf. As we were dropping all of our normal work to do this, a member of my team in New York covered for us and kept everything running. My day was not just wrecked because of the loss of my truck and the stress of the financial impact, but everything that I needed to get done that day was shot. And when I got home, I was so tired from the stress of the day that I couldn’t just work late to catch up. I couldn’t even start looking for vehicle options. I posted the video on my Facebook and was immediately flooded with more spam posts from scammers trying to share links to their Instagram pages than real comments from real people that know our follow me. So I went to bed at 7:00PM and occasionally tried to block and hide spammers as I tried my best to settle down and rest.
Through all of this, I could have looked for people to blame. I could have been mad at people and mad at God. But what good does that ever do anyone, really? We can’t control other people, and we can’t control many of the circumstances we find ourselves in. We can look at what we can learn from a situation, what we can do differently, and how we can forgive others like we have been forgiven ourselves.
In a different life before I knew Jesus and before I committed to walk in The Way, I knew the criminal mindset and victim mindset and justifying bad decisions and criminal actions. So I could see the reflections of my own foolish past in the actions of these men played out on the video screen. I could laugh with the policeman when he asked for my name and let him know that he wouldn’t find any active warrants but that I was confident that he’d find me in the system. You see, there is an old man that I used to be. Someone that might have chased down these folks on my own to seek revenge and teach others through what happened to these guys to never ever come at me and mine again. But that approach was never fulfilling and began more wars than it ever ended.
So now I trust the one who has forgiven me, and I forgive others. You men who have chosen a life of crime, listen to me — it isn’t a shortcut to anywhere but destruction, self inflicted pain for you and your family and loved ones unless you turn away from your foolish ways and turn to God. I don’t have to get revenge, because you are destroying yourselves if you don’t repent and go another way. I don’t want revenge because I would rather see you listen to wisdom, know there is a better Way, choose to be forgiven and to walk in The Way following Jesus.
I remember when the accusers brought a woman caught in the act of adultery to Jesus asking Him what they should do with her, to which He replied to them, “Whoever is free from sin should cast the first stone.” — knowing that the law prescribed she be sinned to death. Jesus himself was free from sin and would have been justified to stone her, yet he showed mercy — even as the accusers all left convicted of their own sin.
I stand forgiven of all my sin by the power of the Blood of the Lamb, yet I will not stone you for the evil you have done against me. My God will turn what you meant for evil towards me to actually be a blessing. And I do not need to seek Vengeance because it is His to measure out as He pleases. My hope and prayer for you is that you will know the forgiveness and hope that I have found in Jesus. Amen.
Matthew 6:9-15 AMP
[9] “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. [10] Your kingdom come, Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. [11] Give us this day our daily bread. [12] And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment]. [13] And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’ [14] For if you forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. [15] But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses.
Harold J. Ballinger 