In A World Half-Full Of Negative People

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (ESV)

A while back I met a sheriff’s deputy who was immediately very negative about my being at the jail to conduct a Bible study. He said I would regret even going in there. When I smiled and said that I had been there many times before, he sarcastically asked, “Why?” But then he got a little more serious and he asked, “Really, why are you here?” I responded that I was there because I believe God loves everyone and I want the ladies in the jail to know that. The conversation continued briefly, and by the end he was smiling and telling me about how he teaches Bible classes for children at his church! This man still has the capacity for positivity, and he responded in kind when he met with a little bit of it.

I recently read a facebook post by a woman who explained that in her work they always send her the customers who are upset, irate, complaining, or just plain irritating. It seems she has a special gift for listening to people and treating them with kindness. So often we write off annoying people; she was making the point that you never know what they may have been through. Everyone needs kindness, even if they’re not able to reciprocate.

I’ve always thought of myself as a positive person. But in recent years, as my kids have gotten old enough to sometimes share their honest opinion about me, I’ve had to face the fact that, though I may feel like an optimist, that’s not really the way I’m perceived by my family, the ones who know me best. And I realize now that one thing I do without thinking is take the opposite attitude from the other person. If they are negative about something, I will encourage them to see the bright side. But if they are positive about something, I will caution them about what might go wrong. I think it’s my way of trying to see, and help others see, the whole picture, all the pros and cons. But no matter how much sense it makes in my head, I can see how that would be annoying.

So how do I want to be treated when I am the pessimist? When I am the annoying person? Well, I’d like to be treated in those moments with a lot of grace. A lot.

Am I willing to give that grace? Sometimes, yes, but not always.

What about Jesus? Was he ever annoyed by people? Probably. But he saw each individual as a soul that needed grace. He loved each person even though none of us deserved His love.

Romans 5:6-8 (ESV) says, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” That irritating person at work, that customer who is unfairly chewing you out, that neighbor who was rude to you that one time— Christ died for all of them. And like me, you have probably been that person to someone else at one time or another.

I don’t think Jesus was always seen as positive. He did call people out on their sin, and there are situations where we are called to do that as well. But maybe not as often as we think. Yes, as the Son of God, Jesus rebuked sinners, but as the Son of God he also “made Himself of no reputation, [took] the form of a bondservant, [came] in the likeness of men, and…humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:7-8 NKJV). I don’t need to use Jesus’s example of rebuking sin as an excuse for me simply telling people off. Furthermore, if I’m going to claim his example when I rebuke my enemies, I’d better make sure I’m willing to claim his example of sacrifice for them as well.

Dear God, thank you for being so patient with me and thank you for the people in my life who are also willing to overlook my faults and love me anyway. Help me to extend the same grace to the difficult people I encounter at times. Help me to love as You love. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

by Christie Cole Atkins