“When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. But how is it to your credit if you are hurt for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God….”
(1 Peter 2:20,23)
Even though a hero is often thought of as one that rises from some monumental experience, God has a more practical outworking for heroism and greatness.
God’s heroes practice consistent greatness by the exercise of helping those who cannot help themselves. God wants every man to lead his marriage and family with His greatness (as a hero) in this way every day!
Enduring Injustices
One of the ways we can be that hero and practice greatness is by enduring the injustices we may feel in our own home. That’s what Jesus did.
One of those ways we can help our wives and children is by following the example of Jesus when it comes to injustices. We can be a hero and help those who continue to dish out injustices by tolerating and forgiving them at the time of their offense.
Have you ever experienced what you consider an injustice—being treated unfairly over some issue—by your spouse or from a friend in a relationship? Of course you have. Who hasn’t felt that way at some time or other?
In the majority of all family relationships, there are times of turmoil and perceived injustices. It wasn’t what God wanted or intended for the institution of marriage or the family, but sin introduced many things outside of God’s will to our daily lives.
As a result, the family unit, designed by God to be glorious and a great blessing, instead presents great challenges that can sometimes seem insurmountable. They can seem that way but they aren’t if we will yield to the supernatural help which is more about changing us rather than trying to change our spouse or our children.
Let’s look at some scriptures that can help temper our hearts from the injustices we feel from time-to-time.
For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps. He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth. When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted himself to Him who judges justly.
(1 Peter 2:19-23)
What do these scriptures say? They say that people treat other people unjustly. It says they say and do stupid things that are not right.
Has someone said or done something to you that was not right? If so, then ask yourself the question, “Have you ever said stupid things and done things that weren’t right?” The answer is yes to both!
Husbands and wives and friends and family don’t get into heated discussions or arguments without saying stupid things. That is why the Apostle Paul gave the warning in Eph 4:26 “In your anger do not sin.” Anger too often leads us to say and do things we regret.
In a new marriage for example, love is strong, infatuation is high and the selfish level is minimal. Young lovers are in the “bliss period.” In time, the “new-love infatuation” begins to fade and personal agendas begin to enter in.
This is where God wants two people to learn, under the tutoring of the Holy Spirit, to let their lives become a life of giving to each other instead of taking from each other. It’s a process—a true learning curve where there will be injustices.
God is never saying lay down and let someone abuse you. Nor am I. But there are a thousand petty things that come up—many of which can be tolerated or overlooked because we recognize we are all a project under construction by God.
The more we time we spend with God and let the Holy Spirit work on us, the more we will victoriously work through the injustices that we feel in the course of building family relationships. The Holy Spirit will help us to be more Christ-like in our thoughts and actions—turning us from selfish to selfless.
He will also help us temper the injustices we feel by helping us see the injustices we create ourselves. He’ll then remind us of the injustices that Jesus bore in our behalf. As it says in 1 Peter 20: “When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.”
This was the heroic and continuous action of Jesus and the example for our daily heroism and greatness that He wants us to practice—especially for men. This helps us as the process of conforming to the image of Christ happens within us over time.
My wife Renee and I have worked through most of this over the years and now have an awesome marriage that has come through much work and pain—pain that was self-inflicted. However, the result was worth the effort.
I encourage you strive for greatness as you build and develop your relationships as well!
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Timothy Burt is a pastor, author, and writer. He is best known as the author of Fresh Manna, a daily devotional and online Bible study.
Pastor Tim became a part of the leadership team at Living Word Christian Center in 1984 and was an Associate Pastor from 1989 until May 31st, 2017. He and His wife Renee, also a Pastor at Living Word, resigned after being a part of Living Word for 33 years on May 31, 2017. They felt impressed by God to pursue the tremendous growth of their ministry "Fresh Manna," as well as teaching conferences and seminars and increasing their involvement in the mission field through Tim and Renee Burt Ministries. Tim has a Bachelor of Theology degree and is a Christian blogger who has been writing a daily inspirational and teaching devotion three days a week called "Fresh Manna" for the past 22 years. It has been read in over 227 countries (official countries and territories). Tim was named one of the top 55 blogging Pastors. He is one of the top Social Media influencers in Minnesota with a strong presence on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TimBurt with over 187,000 followers. Between Tim's Fresh Manna Devotional and Twitter influence, he virally averages reaching over 4 million people daily with the gospel of Jesus Christ and the love of God.
Prior to working at LWCC, he worked at Northwest Airlines for 13 years. In 1985 he founded and was President of American Infant Care Products which marketed his patented invention, the first fold-down commercial infant changing table now used worldwide in public restrooms.
In their tenure at Living Word, Timothy Burt and his wife Renee created a Small Group Ministry when the church was about 800 people in size. Under the leadership of Sr. Pastors Mac and Lynne Hammond, the church grew to over 10,000 people. Pastor Tim and Renee led a diverse Small Group Ministry of over 200 groups. Tim also led weekly men's groups and a monthly Men's Breakfast of 250 plus men called Manhood for 27 years. Tim's responsibilities also included oversight over the Visitor and Member Relations Department, Leadership and Volunteer Development, and the Pastoral Care Department. Pastor Tim was also the Minnesota State Director of Christians United for Israel from 2006 thru 2017.
Tim and Renee are the parents of four children and have seven grandchildren. Tim loves to write, golf, run, and walk, and is a master gardener. He is a five-time marathon finisher. He is also a three-time award-winning gardener winning the Grand Prize in his city for his beautiful home garden and is a Master Gardener for the University of Minnesota's Master Gardener Extension Program.