In 1 John 20-21 it reads: If anyone says "I love God" yet hates his brother he is a liar. For anyone who does not love my brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
It is so easy to love someone we care about and who treats us nicely but it is so hard to love someone when they treat us badly. I struggled with this until one of my Christian mentors explained to me that while we should love everyone that does not mean we have to approve of everything they do. In other words we should love the sinner but not the sin.
We all have people in our lives who push our buttons. Some of them even do it on purpose. How do we love these people but not allow them to tear us down? Another of my wise mentors gave me this advice "Pray for them." Is this easy? No, it is not but if Jesus could pray for the sinners who nailed him to the cross surely I can pray for someone who hurt my feelings.
Above all surround yourself with Christian mentors. These are the friends that give you not only the advice you want to hear but also the advice you need to hear.
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