Bad ReviewsIsampula

Chapter 19: "You’re Fake"

This chapter has been shortened for the Bible app.

Ephesians 4:32 says, “And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.”

I’ll be transparent. There was a person who hurt someone close to me, and because of their selfish actions, I did not care to ever meet them. I thought I wouldn’t be a good friend if I formed any kind of relationship with the adversary. But one brisk fall day, God would have our paths cross. Despite me trying very hard to avoid them, the time came for me to talk with them, and I tried to show empathy. The truth is, I do not know all that this person has been through. Does that excuse the hurt they caused? No. Does that mean we have to be best friends? No. Does it even mean I need to have them in my life regularly? Also no. But it does help me show love and understanding.

Someone looking on may have called me fake or two-faced because I was kind to someone they knew I was angry with. In reality, I was exercising the same grace that had been shown to me, even if it was difficult. It also helped me look inward and think of times when I may have been the one who caused hurt and felt uncomfortable in a particular situation. When someone reached out with an olive branch, it made way for there to be possible reconciliation down the road.

The enemy loves division and has been its root from the beginning. He divided us from God, and he is dividing us as people right now. Hopefully, we can put our pride aside and practice proper godly understanding; broken relationships may one day be mended. We may want to stand our ground, and we may want to be correct, but if we truly allow ourselves to see the situation from another perspective, empathy has a chance to grow. It does not mean all will be healed overnight, but it does mean we are maturing to realize reconciliation is more important than our pride.

In the book of Joshua, there was a woman named Rehab, who was a sex worker. She most likely did this work to survive and provide for her family, or it may have been something she was raised up into. Whatever the cause, it is safe to say her reputation was not good, and she would have been thought of as a lower society member. However, when Joshua, God’s warrior, sent two spies to the town of Jericho, they stayed in her home. Some people may have thought that it was not a good decision for godly men to stay at Rehab’s home, considering her status. But not only did Rehab help them hide, she even helped them escape safely, and because of this act, her household would be spared when Joshua conquered the land. She showed great faithfulness in God, and because of this, God protected her. Her sin did not define her, and Joshua’s spies were not “fake Christians” for finding refuge in her home.

People may doubt your faith based on who you hang out with, let them. The religious leaders questioned Jesus any chance they had based on who he spoke to and associated with. One day, Jesus was eating at the home of Levi, the tax collector, a career choice that was not liked by society at the time, along with other sinners. Scripture says in Mark 2:16-17, “​​When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Now I will conclude this by saying Jesus was the one changing them and not the other way around, so be sure to stand firm in your faith and who God has called you to be.

Was this plan helpful? We adapted this plan from the book Bad Reviews by Rachel Reigard. Available on Amazon.