You Smile Too Much!

     I had always knows the scripture verse that says: "But 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, but it became a real, living part of me during our first pastorate. Every Sunday I would stand at the front door of the church and welcome people to the house of the Lord. I would shake their hand and pass them a bulletin and usually make small talk with them. It was something I enjoyed and looked forward to doing.
     Brad regularily does home visits to the people of the church to check on them, and pray for them. On one particular day while visiting a very stern man of the congregation the man proceeded to tell my husband that he had a complaint about me. Over the next half an hour this man ranted and raved about how it bothered him that I was always doing something in the church. I headed up Women's Ministries and Sunday School. I was at every work day. I passed out bulletins and greeted people and that all bothered him greatly. But the icing on the cake, the one thing that bothered him the most was that I was always smiling. I smiled too much!  (I can't help it, I'm happy and I have a big mouth)
     My sweet, gracious husband took all this and never exploded, (which I find amazing). He thanked Brother So and So for his comments and told him that as soon as he was willing to take over WM, Sunday School, the door greeter position and everything else that I did, that he would make me sit in the front pew and do nothing, but until he was willing to relieve me of my duties I would continue to do them. But he would make sure he was not offended by my smile anymore.
     When Brad came home, he was fuming, not at me but at what the man had said. He then told me that he would be at the door with me to greet people and hand out bulletins but that when Brother So and So came in, he wanted me to step behind him and allow him to pass this man his bulletin. He told me not to smile at him or greet him in anyway.
     Oh this was hard! But my husband had asked it of me so I did it. I was hurt. How could anyone not like a smile? I was on the self pity road when the Lord stopped me and told me quite clearly to pray for this man. I was too hurt and angry to pray! But again the Lord told me to pray for him and this time He told me to pray that Brother So and So would be filled with the joy of the Lord so much that it would overflow his entire being.
     It was hard at first, praying for this man who hated me so much. But the more I prayed the easier it became and after awhile it wasn't just the prayer of obedience, it became a prayer of compassion. My heart ached for him. I couldn't imagine how unhappy a person he must be to be so outwardly hateful. So I prayed more and harder for him to have the joy of the Lord. I would like to tell you that overnight the Lord changed him but He didn't. I prayed for Brother So and So for one year, faithfully prayed for him for one year.
      One Sunday, after I had been praying for that year, Brother So and So came in the church and again I stepped behind my husband and kept my eyes away from this man so as not to offend him, which was my habit. He reached around my husband and stuck out his hand and said to me "well are you going to give me my bulletin?" with a great big smile on his face!!! I almost fell to the ground! I said "certainly Brother So and So good morning to you", and he went smiling to his seat.
     From that day until this every time I see Brother So and So he never fails to greet me and tell me he has missed me. He smiles and I now can smile freely with him. I learned an important lesson from Brother So and So, that we are to pray for those who despitefully use us and when we do the Lord will change the person and the situation.
     Is there someone in your life who has despitefully used you? Pray for them. Don't pray fire down from Heaven on them but pray that the joy of the Lord would fill them and that His love would soften their heart and you will see your heart change towards them. It won't happen overnight because we oftentimes harden our hearts towards that person and the Lord needs to soften us up to have a heart of compassion, a heart like Christ's, but it will happen if we are faithful.