Episode 867 Seeing People for Who They Are
[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: [00:00:00] Thanks for joining me on episode 867 of the inspired stewardship podcast. Hey, I'm
[00:00:07] Nick Pavlidas: [00:00:07] Nick Pavlidas from the confessions of a terrible husband podcast. I challenge you to not be a terrible husband or wife or friend like me by being intentional about stewarding your relationships. One way to be inspired to be a better husband is to listen to this.
[00:00:24] The inspired stewardship podcast with my friend Scott Maderer.
[00:00:31]Scott Maderer: [00:00:31] and what's interesting is often given long enough, we will discover in that person that they're reacting out of a place of fear out of a pate place of protection or an appraise place where deep inside them, you recognize all the sudden the loving kindness of them, and it can open them up and cause things to change.
[00:00:55] Welcome and thank you for joining us on the inspired stewardship podcast. [00:01:00] If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent and your treasures for your true calling in the inspired stewardship podcast. We'll learn to invest in yourself, invest in others and develop your influence so that you.
[00:01:19] Can impact the
[00:01:20] world.
[00:01:21]Scott Maderer: [00:01:21] And today's spiritual founder episode about developing your influence. I talk with you about why we are called to see God in others. I share why first John chapter four. Four verse 12 calls for us to see the perfection of God in others. And I also talk about why this view is so hard, but also worthwhile first John chapter four verse 12 says no one has ever seen God yet.
[00:01:50] If we love one another, God remains in us. And his love is brought to perfection in us. The truth is that. Seeing God in [00:02:00] others is something that we are called to do because God has made us in his or her image that we've been made in the image of God. And because of that perfection of God is in us.
[00:02:15] Not because we are perfect, but because we are a reflection of that perfection. When we look at other people, when we see a homeless person pushing a cart down the sidewalk, when somebody cuts us off in traffic, or when somebody does something to us that is right, or that is wrong. Something that helps us or something that harms us either way.
[00:02:38] We tend to view them with pity, maybe with anger or frustration, we can. React out of fear or we can react out of joy, but it's hard to recognize that in all of those cases, we are actually called to see Christ in that other person. [00:03:00] Even if that other person is doing something that is wrong, something that harms us something that hurts.
[00:03:07] And I'll tell you the truth. That is really hard to do. It's the commandment of loving your enemies and praying for those who persecute you. But our self instinct is to protect ourselves from others. And trust me. I understand. I'm one of those people. I feel the same way. I get angry when someone harms me or my family, I react out of fear, out of frustration and out of anger.
[00:03:34] But the truth is what Jesus is calling for us to do is to actually recognize God. And God's grace. In other people to recognize that we are not called react out of anger and judgment, but rather to react out of love. And that's hard to do whenever you're hurt or whenever you're harmed or whenever there's anger or feelings [00:04:00] of discomfort.
[00:04:02] It's easier. Sometimes if the person is needing help, we see somebody who needs help and we tend to react with kindness. It's easier when somebody is doing something loving and kind for us, we can feel that, and we can react with kindness, but it's really hard feeling discomfort or anger or fear to react that way.
[00:04:29] It's thought, however, something that we're only called to do for those around us that need our help. It's also something that we're called to do whenever we need the help of God to recognize that even in those folks, there is a grace of God in them. When we find that person that we do not like, or that person that irritates us or that we have a natural discomfort.
[00:04:58] For we're [00:05:00] called to pray for them. We're called to actually pray for them sincerely. And this isn't a prayer of, I hope something happens to them. This is a prayer of love and kindness. And what's interesting is often given long enough, we will discover in that person that they're reacting out of a place of fear out of a place of protection or at a prey place where deep inside them, you recognize all the sudden the loving kindness of them, and it can open them up and cause things to change in our relationship.
[00:05:38] With those people, it can suddenly open it up because we recognize them in us and they recognize us in them. Now trust me in this. I'm not saying don't ever stand up for yourself and I'm not saying don't ever protect yourself. Jesus responds out of anger too, but the anger that Jesus tends to respond [00:06:00] out of is the anger of protecting others.
[00:06:02] It's the anger of whenever we are abusing or taking advantage of another it's the anger against injustice and against fear and against anger. It's a, it's basically reacting to protect others. It's a justified anger. That's what you see when you look for the anger of God. And what's funny is when we look for that, we tend to no longer be looking to just protect ourselves, but rather to protect those around us.
[00:06:34] And when we recognize that we can believe that God is interceding on their behalf and on our behalf. And it's interesting when we hear the word of God spoken to us inside ourselves. When we feel that call of the spirit, that righteous anger begins to be turned on, things that sometimes are the things that initially we didn't believe were even [00:07:00] things to be righteously angered about.
[00:07:03] We can be called to be angry about things that perhaps at first glance we would agree with. Because we listen to how God is opening our heart and recognizing the humanity and the godhood in all of those around us. That is very different than reacting out of fear and out of frustration yourself and lashing out at other people, because you believe that they are evil or they are harmful, or God is not within them.
[00:07:37] These are two different things that we can be called to do. And it's really hard to know when you're doing one and when you're doing the other, and this is why the balance between these is so hard, but so worthwhile because when we strike that right balance, we end up building relationships that are from within the spirit.
[00:08:00] [00:07:59] Thanks for listening.
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