"For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored." (Luke 14:11, NIV) These words were whispering in my ears. I realized that since I was the one who's at fault, what should I do then, Lord? He said softly, "Apologize." But I was a bit adamant knowing this man has caused a lot of offenses on me. I said, "Why should I Lord, this guy's freaking me out in the first place despite that he's my own Brother in Christ!" Brother in Christ. That's the point, He is a part of the body of Christ. I was stunned and asked God for strength and wisdom when He confirmed that I should talk to him and apologize, I needed to do it and I want to be obedient to God. Jesus was insulted, beaten and treated like a trash for my sake just so He can give me life, I have to do this.
I corrected the mistake by approaching him and apologized. I told him, "Sir, had you informed me earlier that there was a written memo about that then I should've not questioned you, I'm sorry, it was my fault." The man was almost in tears and confessed that it was really also his fault and said that he still should have informed us about it. "Maya, you are a true Christian... I wanna salute you for doing this. I don't even think I can do this myself." He remarked. God was glorified, not either one of us or whose fault is it. It's about Him. How he loved us and forgiven us by giving Himself as a ransom for many. The bible says, "20For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:20, KJV)
I realized that giving up your pride is as easy as ABC. You just have to ask for God's grace to pour on you so that we will realize slowly but surely our mistakes that sometimes we tend to ignore. Sometimes, we feel that if a person is at fault, they just deserve to die or suffer or we even say, "He deserved it! I hope he burns in hell!" Friends, this is not the kind of love Jesus taught us. He said to love one another and does not keep a record of a person's wrongdoings. He also said to forgive as He has forgiven us, "... `Forgive your brothers for the great evil they did to you.' Says in Genesis 50:17. Forgiveness therefore is a command by God, not a choice.
Further, if we need wisdom from God, then we must practice humility, not pride says in Proverbs 11:2, "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom."
By: Maya Guzman Santos
