Do people that know you hate you?

Family and close friends really amaze me.  Some of the greatest love and strongest hate can be found in families.  People that know you with detail have a choice to accept who you are or try to change you.  Also, acceptance can go to a point where you either become a doormat or enabler rather than a helper.  The problem is that people do not think that hate, just not being compatible, or completely not getting along should be coming from family or a close friend.  A saying I have heard is: “Are you better off with the devil that you know rather than the devil you do not?”

With several close family members and friends, I have tried to fix or repair somethings I know that  I have done and somethings I do not even understand.  These things have hurt me deeply and I know I have hurt some people deeply.  Some of these people know me better than I know myself.  I have asked myself over and over what to do and I found this:

Just a Carpenter

He left there and returned to his hometown. His disciples came along. On the Sabbath, he gave a lecture in the meeting place. He made a real hit, impressing everyone. “We had no idea he was this good!” they said. “How did he get so wise all of a sudden, get such ability?”

But in the next breath they were cutting him down: “He’s just a carpenter—Mary’s boy. We’ve known him since he was a kid. We know his brothers, James, Justus, Jude, and Simon, and his sisters. Who does he think he is?” They tripped over what little they knew about him and fell, sprawling. And they never got any further.

Jesus told them, “A prophet has little honor in his hometown, among his relatives, on the streets he played in as a child.” Jesus wasn’t able to do much of anything there—he laid hands on a few sick people and healed them, that’s all. He couldn’t get over their stubbornness. He left and made a circuit of the other villages, teaching.  Mark 6:1-6 (MSG) 

I am not saying I am a prophet. I am saying that if Jesus had problems getting honor in his hometown, you definitely know that you may have issues with people who either know you or perceive something they think you are.

Do you have a love for someone that is a family member or close friend that seems to be completely broken?  Is this brokenness something that you know you have done or something that you do not even have an idea of?  Do you want to fix it?  Do you want to run from it?

The key:  Give it completely to God!  Stop eating for a day and every time you think of food, turn this into prayer about the situation!  Pray that God will reveal to you what to do and, when He is ready, to fix it!  If it is His will, it is already taken care of.

NOTE:  A reader asked the following question: “How should you minister to a relative who acts in a very hateful manner whenever the subject of Christ is brought up to them? When, if ever, should you just “give up” and just pray for them and leave the situation in God’s hands?”  This post is based on how I am dealing with this and I believe the post answers the questions that have been asked.

What do you think?