living those confusing days of long ago. He had thought this period of his life was long forgotten, but he found himself wanting only to get even. One day he related the experience to me and asked how one could work with a person who had treated him so badly. I referred him to several Scripture passages, including 2 Corinthians 5:7-10 where the apostle Paul speaks of trouble, perplexity, persecution, re jection. All these had happened to this man. Paul also says there is a power that will enable a man to face such treatment without distress, despair, self-pity, or ruin. It is the power of God. I dis cussed this with Jerry Weller, but at the time it seemed to mean little to him. I spoke of the end products of distress, pointing out that definite bodily changes are involved. Blood pressure, res piration, digestion can be affected, I said. Freedom from distress means that the body will function normally. “Are you suggesting that I am my own prob lem?” he asked. I assured him it was so. Then I brought to his mind a statement that Jesus made: “ I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). This, I said, should be his attitude toward the man who had fired him. Weller became furious. How could I be so lack ing in sympathy and understanding? Now he was upset not only at the engineer, but at me as well. Who was being hurt when he carried his grudge around within himself? Who is hurt when you get upset over someone who is not even in your presence? You, of course. First you must be aware of your sin. The knowl edge of sin, however, does not eliminate it or the problems that sin causes. Wise is the man who heeds the advice of the apostle James: “ Be ye doers o f the word ; and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. F or if any he a hearer o f the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his nat ural face in a glass: fo r he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forg etteth what manner o f man he was" (James 1:22-24). The urging here is to those who want to be free from this misery, who want to be lifted out of their sin. But was it not strange that the man who said he wanted relief from his upset condition became all the more upset because I told him he did not need to be upset? One would think he would have seized the opportunity to shed’ his spirit of bitter ness and hate. But such is not the nature of man. For many persons, to yield bitterness and hatred in exchange for a tender heart toward someone who doesn’t deserve it would not be blessed relief, but great sacrifice. Like the general manager, un told numbers of persons would like to be free from
their aches and pains, but if to be rid of them means to relinquish a long-standing grudge, they would rather ache. If I had told Jerome Weller that his grudge was normal and that probably I would have acted in the same way, he might have enjoyed some relief, but the inner sore would have continued to fester and spread its poison. It is a mystery how a man finally quits fighting and turns to God for a spirit of love toward some one who does not deserve it. Generally there is a struggle before a man yields. But when he does yield, his problem is nearly over. The Bible says' it is your move. “ Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). One day Jerry Weller came. Today his digestive disorder is over, his aches and pains are gone. He is at peace with himself and with the man who had abused him. Jerry is enjoying God’s peace — the fruit of the Spirit—in his life. How does this change come about? By confess ing or acknowledging that you have done wrong, that you have sinned. David wrote this about his sin: “ I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 32:5). The pathway to spiritual peace is a struggle. Discover the truth about yourself and you will nat urally shrink from it; become offended and defen sive and you will be bound in the strong fetters of your sin. But what a difference you will find if you heed the promise of Jesus: “ If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31 ,32). ET b ] This article is a chapter from the hook, “ The Struggle for Peace,” © 1965 by Scripture Press Foundation. This book by Henry R. Brandt, Ph.D., is available from the Gospel Publishing House, Springfield, Mo. 56802, for $1. Please mention the full title of the book when ordering. bu HetfJu^T3Hi04/ufc
AUGUST, 1968
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