Last week, the suicide of a Korean singer/actor Sulli (Choi Jinri, aged 25) made headlines, and it is alleged that she struggled with hateful online comments for a long time and took her own life.
We as Christians can also become trapped in our own pain. It’s tragic to have to waste our lives and our time trapped inside relationship problems, or other kinds of agony. Everyone goes through problems with relationships, but should we then avoid building relationships altogether? That is not the solution to the problem. When we are able to overcome the problem, the conflicts and pain we face can become an opportunity for us to grow.
Let us remember three basic things to love others without being hurt.
First, relationships are not about giving and taking. We are hurt because we think, ‘I gave you this much and all you give back is this?’ We must always remember that the mature and the blessed are the givers.
Secondly, the less the expectation, the less we will be hurt. Most people who have been hurt and have sought psychiatric help have said that they wanted to be “accepted by everyone”. If we are able to free ourselves from wanting to be accepted for our good deeds, we will feel more liberated.
Lastly, we need to have a high self-esteem. Self-esteem is about how I look at myself. A Christian’s self-esteem is different to that of worldly self-esteem gained through possessions and achievements. A Christian’s self-esteem is about existence. Being united with Jesus itself should be the basis of self-esteem. It’s believing that He loves me and is always with me despite my weaknesses and flaws. When one is confident of this belief, it’s easier to overcome hurtful comments people make because of their low self-esteem.
Our lives are too short to waste time trapped in pain. We are all incomplete beings and all have flaws, and we are all still learning. Let us engage with one another, seek and give help to each other, and create a community that grows together.
This week’s message
In our mokjangs, we become a genuine family as the wall between one another is torn down through sharing our weaknesses not our strengths, sharing pain rather than boasting.
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아랫글
김지나 2019.10.26 13:59
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Last week, the suicide of a Korean singer/actor Sulli (Choi Jinri, aged 25) made headlines, and it is alleged that she struggled with hateful online comments for a long time and took her own life.
We as Christians can also become trapped in our own pain. It’s tragic to have to waste our lives and our time trapped inside relationship problems, or other kinds of agony. Everyone goes through problems with relationships, but should we then avoid building relationships altogether? That is not the solution to the problem. When we are able to overcome the problem, the conflicts and pain we face can become an opportunity for us to grow.
Let us remember three basic things to love others without being hurt.
First, relationships are not about giving and taking. We are hurt because we think, ‘I gave you this much and all you give back is this?’ We must always remember that the mature and the blessed are the givers.
Secondly, the less the expectation, the less we will be hurt. Most people who have been hurt and have sought psychiatric help have said that they wanted to be “accepted by everyone”. If we are able to free ourselves from wanting to be accepted for our good deeds, we will feel more liberated.
Lastly, we need to have a high self-esteem. Self-esteem is about how I look at myself. A Christian’s self-esteem is different to that of worldly self-esteem gained through possessions and achievements. A Christian’s self-esteem is about existence. Being united with Jesus itself should be the basis of self-esteem. It’s believing that He loves me and is always with me despite my weaknesses and flaws. When one is confident of this belief, it’s easier to overcome hurtful comments people make because of their low self-esteem.
Our lives are too short to waste time trapped in pain. We are all incomplete beings and all have flaws, and we are all still learning. Let us engage with one another, seek and give help to each other, and create a community that grows together.
This week’s message
In our mokjangs, we become a genuine family as the wall between one another is torn down through sharing our weaknesses not our strengths, sharing pain rather than boasting.