My buddy was running late for lunch one day, which was very unlike him. When he finally made it to the restaurant and sat down across from me, I could tell he was a little frazzled.

“Sorry,” he said. “I’ve been on the phone with a business associate and well…”

I interjected, “They were giving you a hard time?” 

He smiled and said, “They were giving me an opportunity to love on them.”

That sentiment has stuck with me for a long time. When someone gives me a hard time, the instinct is to see it as an opportunity to get even. I may snap back at them or some other retaliation. Perhaps secretly I file the incident away to build of case of how they are a mean person and thus I can justly avoid them and have a low reputation of them. Yet, my buddy laid out a whole different perspective. Instead of seeing it as an opportunity to despise, I should see it as an opportunity to love.

Christians frequently ask God for opportunities to live out our faith. What we often forget is that those opportunities regularly show up as frustrating, difficult moments that put our faith to the test. Let’s call it like it is…It’s hard to love someone who is being ugly to you. Yet, what better way to practice loving like Jesus than to do it toward someone who has hurt me? It’s a lot more effective than returning the favor. Solomon observed, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses” (Prov. 10:12). Peter echoes the same sentiment, but with a greater sense of urgency. “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pet 4:8). Think about it. If we can learn to love those who are giving us grief and trouble, how much easier is it to love on them when we are at peace?

The next time someone starts ruffling your feathers, don’t look at it as an opportunity to get even. Learn to see it as an opportunity to love on them.

Cory Waddell