Love and Respect

[Ambassador_of_Hope]

Day 37 Authority and Abuse

A dear relation of mine sped off after being directed back to vendor by his tenured peers. The staff roared in laughter at the thought of the humiliating interchange waiting at the end of his ride. It reminded of the first and only time I went searching for snipes, only to find out when I returned empty handed, that my friends and I had been duped. The motive behind authority taking advantage of youth and inexperience is rooted in arrogance and a form of joyful banter at the expense of others. I’m not proud of my own past of initiating or participating in teasing and harassment. I am embarrassed to say, I still battle to keep my provoking nature at bay.

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” It feels downright awful when degraded, teased, and harassed. When publicly humiliated you want to dig a hole, just to crawl inside, in an attempt to end the pain. I recently sat across the table from a young man that was still suffering the wounds of being bullied in High School, many years past graduation. Jesus had every reason to degrade his disciples, especially Peter, during the three years he prepared them all for his exit. Yet, with numerous recent failures, Jesus looked into Peter’s eyes and commanded him to feed his sheep. Thirty days later he was launching and then leading the church using love and respect as his primary tools for reaching people. Two thousand years later, the tools are the same. Christ says to us, “Feed my sheep.” Let’s get to work.

8/20/2022
Dave Dassoulas
dave@hopebuilders.com