Faith From 9 to 5

The opportunities in challenges

I believe that there are learning opportunities in every challenge we face. One of the readings at church on Sunday reminded me of that. 

Romans 5:3-4 says "...suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us..."

While what we suffer through at work is no where near as serious as the suffering of millions of others around the world, it's still emotionally challenging for us not to mention stressful and draining.

We can't change anyone but ourselves.  When we change how we react to someone they must then change to adapt to the new behavior on our part.

How can we deal with the challenging situations and people we face at work while remaining true to our faith, beliefs, and values?  That issue tests our faith every single day.  Do we respond instinctively or do we take the time to connect our faith with our actions?

Which situations and types of people do you find to be most challenging to you and how are you able to repsond in a way that's consistent with your faith?

Do you have trouble forgiving?

Sunday's paper included this article about a horrific killing I had forgotten all about.  James Byrd was totured and killed in Jasper, Texas solely because he was a Black man.  Mr. Byrd was chained by the ankles, hooked to the bumper of a pickup truck, then dragged a road.  His body was found in 75 places with his head and one arm discovered about a mile from his torso.

I can't even imagine the pain he endured nor the pain his family endured when they were told how he died.

If the Byrd family were still angry 10 years after this horrible event I don't know that I would blame them.

And yet...somehow they're not. 

They're still in pain, yes.  They miss Mr. Byrd of course.

Yet they put their pain into the James Byrd Jr. Foundation for Racial Healing which conducts workshops, gives scholarships, and helped win passage of a hate crime bill in Texas. 

If they can manage to move past the hurt, the unspeakable cruelty of their situation and Mr. Byrd's murder, how can we hold a grudge and refuse to forgive someone who's hurt our feelings or done something to hurt our reputation in the office?

They don't even begin to compare in size and pain.

The Byrd's haven't forgotten what's happened and I'm not suggesting you forget whatever slight may have been done to you.  But they have been able to accomplish far more by somehow moving past the pain to forgiveness.

Christ repeatedly instructed us to forgive others.  In the section of Matthew known as The Sermon on the Mount, Christ tells the crowd that if they are bringing a gift to the altar and remember that there is a lingering problem between themselves and their brother, they're to go and "be reconciled" to their brother first.

This issue of forgiving is one of the many challenges people of faith face in living and applying our faith in our daily lives.  We often say we forgive someone but the feelings in our heart and the our actions often say that we really haven't. 

What will you do to move past the hurt and begin to forgive today?