When people snipe at you and their verbal arrows pull you down, your foundations are destroyed. It's sometimes unfathomable; it can inflict a deep wound in your mind.
Don't be surprised when poisoned arrows hit you. When people make a sly or petty verbal attack, that's capable of wrecking your life. These arrows can come from your friends, relatives and colleagues. Oh my God, what did I do. When your close relatives thwack you with such arrows, the effect can be devastating and lead to a cataclysmic upheaval in your mind.
Venerable Rev PK Zachariah of Mar Thoma Church says people who are close to you can give you nightmares with cruel verbal arrows. Take Psalms 11:1-3. "How then can you say to me: 'Flee like a bird to your mountain. For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart. When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?"
They shoot from the shadows. There can be several reasons from jealousy, greed, money to hatred. Anything. They may not directly confront you. It can hit your indirectly and you won't know from which direction it came to you. There are vindictive and vengeful people around us. Some of them are wolves in sheep's clothing with a wicked mind. They want to teach you a lesson. "Hey, who are you... I will show you your place," they tell themselves.
I'm sure most of you might have encountered such wicked arrows from your near ones. "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" David experienced it in a bitter way when his son Absalom rebelled against him and wanted to kill the king. Our Lord Jesus Christ also faced this when Judas betrayed him. It's a heart-wrenching experience and your tempted for retaliation.
But it's Christian way not to retaliate. "Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing," says 1 Peter 3:9.
"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," says Mathew 5:44. Our Lord clearly tells us to pray for those who send wicked arrows and assault you verbally.
Yes, He is watching everyone and every move. "The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes everyone on earth; his eyes examine them. The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion. On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot," Psalms 11 says.
These are tough words... "fiery coals and burning sulfur". It's also a warning from God to those sending wicked arrows.
Don't be surprised when poisoned arrows hit you. When people make a sly or petty verbal attack, that's capable of wrecking your life. These arrows can come from your friends, relatives and colleagues. Oh my God, what did I do. When your close relatives thwack you with such arrows, the effect can be devastating and lead to a cataclysmic upheaval in your mind.
They shoot from the shadows. There can be several reasons from jealousy, greed, money to hatred. Anything. They may not directly confront you. It can hit your indirectly and you won't know from which direction it came to you. There are vindictive and vengeful people around us. Some of them are wolves in sheep's clothing with a wicked mind. They want to teach you a lesson. "Hey, who are you... I will show you your place," they tell themselves.
I'm sure most of you might have encountered such wicked arrows from your near ones. "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" David experienced it in a bitter way when his son Absalom rebelled against him and wanted to kill the king. Our Lord Jesus Christ also faced this when Judas betrayed him. It's a heart-wrenching experience and your tempted for retaliation.
But it's Christian way not to retaliate. "Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing," says 1 Peter 3:9.
"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," says Mathew 5:44. Our Lord clearly tells us to pray for those who send wicked arrows and assault you verbally.
Yes, He is watching everyone and every move. "The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes everyone on earth; his eyes examine them. The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion. On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot," Psalms 11 says.
These are tough words... "fiery coals and burning sulfur". It's also a warning from God to those sending wicked arrows.
