The Hurt Feelings Switch

Love is not easily offended…. I have a hurt feelings switch. We all do per my mother and she knows almost everything. I have worked long and hard to make my switch heavy, it is very hard to turn on…so I thought. Before I go into that, let’s look at the verse above from 1 Corinthians 13 it says, “love it not easily offended.” Well what is easy? This of course is relative. Multiplication is easy to a mathematician but to a 5 year old it’s foreign. So we have to look at ourselves, our lives, and our personal growth the things that offended us 10 years ago, 5 years ago even last year should not offend us the same way. Let me define offense. When I am talking about offense here I am referring to one individual intentionally or unintentionally trying to hurt you emotionally.

Okay so back to the hurt feeling switch. Someone flipped my switch and can you believe that, that heavy switch now defies gravity! It seems I can’t force it down. Every time I think about that person and what they said it brings tears to my eyes, I don’t want to flip the switch down. The thing is I know how this person thinks; I know this person said what they said to hurt me because they wanted me to feel as bad as I unintentionally made them feel. I know this person knows they went over the line and I also know they probably won’t apologize but they defiantly don’t hate me. Knowing these things should have made the switch slightly heavier, but it didn’t.
God had to reveal to me the growth in this situation. The growth that He was requiring me to make. What! Me! Did you hear what they said?! Do you know what they did and you want ME to GROW?! Yes God wants us to grow. One day this situation will rise again maybe with a different person or circumstance, but the expectation is for me to not be so quick to flip that switch. To use my understanding not to justify that persons antics, but to maintain my personal discipline and emotional control. The truth of the matter is folks that when we stand before God and He asks us why we didn’t do what He said to do, using the excuse that someone flipped your hurt feelings switch will not be an sufficient answer.

Father,
Help us to be more like you. Continue to shape us and challenge us, show us how to show and receive true love with no strings attached. Make our hurt feelings switch heavier by the day and when we flip that switch father give us grace to bring it back down. We love you and we thank you for daily transformation.
Amen.