Job
was requesting for a fair trial. Job’s friends had insinuated that Job must
have sinned. They wrongly equated Job's troubles with Job having done something
wrong. But Job knew he had not committed anything to deserve this punishment.
He supposed his friends had judged him without understanding the facts, the
extent of his sorrows, and he desired that they should establish the facts
before they condemned him. He was willing that his sins, if they could be
proved, should be weighed against his sufferings.
Have
we been guilty of making unjust accusations? Have we also been in the receiving
end of unjust treatment? It’s part of life; it’s not a fair world after all.
Not everyone is going to be your friend. And not everyone will stand on your
side. You will have “friends” who are going to misjudge you, stab you in the
back, suspect your motives, and misinterpret your intentions. What should you
do when you get treated unfairly?
Many
will want to stand up for their right. Many more will lash out at whoever was
making the accusations. Yet somehow, it didn’t solve the issue but only made
that person felt his accusations were justified. Hence, I think before we do
anything, we need to decide how important it is for us to be right. In most
cases the answer is, it is not important. My very wise mother used to say:
“It’s their mouths; let them say what they like. You guard your mouth. You
don’t end up becoming like them.”
In
most cases, explanation is a waste of time. People who care about you will not
think evil about you (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). And, you need not care about those
who are not your friends anyway. If you don't care about them, why care about
what they say? We can’t change someone else’s decision or behaviour if they
aren’t willing to change. But we can change how we respond to them. What’s
important is that we try to move beyond them so we don’t let the things we
can’t control take control of us.
Let
Christ be our example when we are unfairly treated: “Who, when he was
reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed
himself to him that judgeth righteously” (Peter 2:12). Christ submitted His
whole case to God; man may be unjust but not God. Hence, let God judge our case
(Romans 12:19).
One
thing to remember when we have been unfairly treated is that God is watching to
see what we will do. Will we go down the road of the ungodly? Will we return an
eye for an eye? The apostle Peter gives us some helpful tips: “Servants, be
subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but
also to the froward. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience
toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if,
when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if,
when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable
with God” (1 Peter 2:18-20).
Peter
was giving instructions to slaves who had been ill-treated by their masters.
Sometimes they did well but still suffered for it. Well, it is still happening
today. You may be doing a good work but someone comes along and snubs at it and
says it is a waste of time and resources. Peter says to take it patiently, that
is, endure. Peter says in the next chapter: “Do not
repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for
to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing” (1 Peter 3:9,
ESV). He continues: “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his
ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do
evil” (1 Peter 3:11, ESV).
If
you have been unfairly tread treated or mistreated, you are not alone. Our Lord
suffered the same too. Let us hold fast to our Christian principles and let our
actions do the talking. Rumours and gossips will stop if our enemies find they
are of no use against us.
Jimmy Lau
Psa
119:97 Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.
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