Chaos-Causers

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32 NIV.

When I watch hurt people cry, it saddens me. They do it on social platforms. They make posts and videos that shout desperation, engage in illicit behaviors, or bellyache about situations they are in. It's sad how much they crave validation. It's sad to watch them struggle with the hurts they cope with.

Like many of you, I've experienced hurt from those closest to me. It's a painful reality that many of us face. I've seen how this hurt can hinder our path to success, trapping us in our past. It's a struggle that can lead us into sinful practices as we desperately seek love and validation. Love, in these moments, becomes warped and skewed as we try to make ourselves noticed.

Fred Rogers was one of my favorite people. He had a positive outlook on life. One of his quotes was that feeling good about ourselves is essential to being able to love others. He did an exercise involving acknowledging those who contributed to our progress—even those who hurt us. We need to remember the positive points that molded us into who we are—even our enemies.

We are not broken people. Jesus sees us as beautiful, and we should view others as wonderful. Then, release the pain and hurt we harbor in our hearts. We can have confidence again when we surrender the pain to Jesus. Let go of those past hurts people caused us. Release them. We become prisoners when we neglect to escape bondage. They become our captors as we go forth in life, holding onto the past. We must allow God to move in us and the chaos-causers.

Lord, forgive our oppressors. Free us from the bondages we're trapped in. Help us discover good in every experience and release hurt and captors. In Jesus’ name, amen.