When Our Faith Is Tested by Someone Else's Words

I have the right to journal about how I feel.

I have the right to write about my experiences, my struggles, my growth, my questions, my disappointments, my victories, and even the things I am still trying to understand.

And when someone reads what I write, they have the right to feel whatever they feel.

They may agree with me.

They may disagree with me.

They may be uncomfortable with something I have written. They may see things differently.

That is part of being human.

But there is something I have been thinking about deeply.

What happens when people who call themselves blood-washed, born-again believers respond to someone's words with hatred, condemnation, cruelty and personal attacks?

At what point do we stop defending our right to be offended and start examining our own hearts?

Because being born again does not mean that we will never be challenged by another person's words. It means that when we ARE challenged, we should be willing to allow God to examine our response.

It is easy to speak about love when everyone agrees with us.

It is easy to call ourselves Christians when we are surrounded by people who think like us, worship like us and see life the way we do.

But what happens when somebody says something we don't like?

What happens when someone's testimony makes us uncomfortable? What happens when someone's writing exposes something we would rather not look at?

What happens when someone is brave enough to put into words the things we have kept buried?

Do we respond with grace?

Or do we attack the person?

I believe there is a difference between disagreement and hatred.

You can disagree with my words without disrespecting me. You can question my perspective without destroying my character.

You can walk away from my writing if it is not for you.

You can even tell me that you don't agree.

But when disagreement turns into hatred, mockery, cruelty and condemnation, I think we need to stop for a moment and ask ourselves:

What is really happening inside of me?

Because if I claim to love God, but I have developed hatred toward another person simply because their words challenged me, then perhaps the problem isn't only with what they wrote.

Perhaps there is something in my own heart that God wants me to examine.

The Bible doesn't tell us that we will always like one another.

It doesn't tell us that we will always agree.

But it does call us to love.

And that is where I believe the real test of our faith begins.

Anyone can quote Scripture.

Anyone can say, “I am a born-again believer.”

Anyone can speak about being covered by the blood.

But eventually, our lives have to give evidence of what our mouths confess.

If I say I belong to Christ, then Christ should be visible in the way I respond to people—even when I don't like what they say.

That doesn't mean I have to agree with everyone.

It doesn't mean I have to accept everything someone writes.

And it certainly doesn't mean that every opinion is automatically right.

But it does mean that I should be careful about the condition of my heart.

Because sometimes we are so busy pointing out what we believe is wrong with someone else that we forget to ask God:

“Lord, what are You showing me about me?”

And that question can be uncomfortable.

I know it can be uncomfortable because I have had to ask myself that question many times.

I have had to look at my own negativity.

My own words.

My own reactions. 

My own bitterness.

My own fears.

My own assumptions.

And I have had to admit that sometimes the person I needed to correct wasn't somebody else.

It was me.

So yes, I will continue to journal.

I will continue to write.

I will continue to tell my story.

I will continue to put words to the things I am experiencing because writing has become part of how I process life, growth, faith and becoming.

And if somebody reads my words and doesn't like them, that is okay. You are allowed to feel what you feel.

But I am also allowed to feel what I feel.

I am allowed to tell my story without asking everyone to agree with me.

And perhaps that is one of the most important lessons of all:

We don't have to agree to love one another.

If we truly call ourselves followers of Christ, then perhaps our response to someone else's words should not immediately be condemnation.

Perhaps it should be discernment.

Perhaps it should be prayer.

Perhaps it should be, “Lord, help me understand why this has affected me so deeply.”

When Our Faith Is Tested by Someone Else’s Words

I have the right to journal about how I feel.

I have the right to write about my experiences, my struggles, my growth, my questions, my disappointments, my victories, and even the things I am still trying to understand.

And when someone reads what I write, they have the right to feel whatever they feel.

They may agree with me.

They may disagree with me.

They may be uncomfortable with something I have written.

They may see things differently.

That is part of being human.

But there is something I have been thinking about deeply.

What happens when people who call themselves blood-washed, born-again believers respond to someone's words with hatred, condemnation, cruelty and personal attacks?

At what point do we stop defending our right to be offended and start examining our own hearts?

Because being born again does not mean that we will never be challenged by another person's words.

It means that when we ARE challenged, we should be willing to allow God to examine our response.

It is easy to speak about love when everyone agrees with us.

It is easy to call ourselves Christians when we are surrounded by people who think like us, worship like us and see life the way we do.

But what happens when somebody says something we don't like?

What happens when someone's testimony makes us uncomfortable?

What happens when someone's writing exposes something we would rather not look at?

What happens when someone is brave enough to put into words the things we have kept buried?

Do we respond with grace?

Or do we attack the person?

I believe there is a difference between disagreement and hatred.

You can disagree with my words without disrespecting me.

You can question my perspective without destroying my character.

You can walk away from my writing if it is not for you.

You can even tell me that you don't agree.

But when disagreement turns into hatred, mockery, cruelty and condemnation, I think we need to stop for a moment and ask ourselves:

What is really happening inside of me?

Because if I claim to love God, but I have developed hatred toward another person simply because their words challenged me, then perhaps the problem isn't only with what they wrote.

Perhaps there is something in my own heart that God wants me to examine.

The Bible doesn't tell us that we will always like one another.

It doesn't tell us that we will always agree.

But it does call us to love.

And that is where I believe the real test of our faith begins.

Anyone can quote Scripture.

Anyone can say, “I am a born-again believer.”

Anyone can speak about being covered by the blood.

But eventually, our lives have to give evidence of what our mouths confess.

If I say I belong to Christ, then Christ should be visible in the way I respond to people—even when I don't like what they say.

That doesn't mean I have to agree with everyone.

It doesn't mean I have to accept everything someone writes.

And it certainly doesn't mean that every opinion is automatically right.

But it does mean that I should be careful about the condition of my heart.

Because sometimes we are so busy pointing out what we believe is wrong with someone else that we forget to ask God:

“Lord, what are You showing me about me?”

And that question can be uncomfortable.

I know it can be uncomfortable because I have had to ask myself that question many times.

I have had to look at my own negativity.

My own words.

My own reactions.

My own bitterness.

My own fears.

My own assumptions.

And I have had to admit that sometimes the person I needed to correct wasn't somebody else.

It was me.

So yes, I will continue to journal.

I will continue to write.

I will continue to tell my story.

I will continue to put words to the things I am experiencing because writing has become part of how I process life, growth, faith and becoming.

And if somebody reads my words and doesn't like them, that is okay.

You are allowed to feel what you feel.

But I am also allowed to feel what I feel.

I am allowed to tell my story without asking everyone to agree with me.

And perhaps that is one of the most important lessons of all:

We don't have to agree to love one another.

If we truly call ourselves followers of Christ, then perhaps our response to someone else's words should not immediately be condemnation.

Perhaps it should be discernment.

Perhaps it should be prayer.

Perhaps it should be, “Lord, help me understand why this has affected me so deeply.”

Because the person writing may be working through their own wounds.

And the person reading may be carrying wounds of their own.

We are all becoming.

We are all learning.

We are all being shaped.

And none of us should be so confident in our own righteousness that we forget we are still works in progress.

So I will keep writing.

I will keep growing.

I will keep allowing God to correct me where correction is needed.

And I will also keep reminding myself that someone else's reaction to my words does not determine whether I am allowed to have a voice.

I don't need everyone to understand me.

I don't need everyone to agree with me.

And I certainly don't need to become smaller so that someone else can remain comfortable.

But as I write, I will also pray that my words are never written from a place of hatred.

And as others read, I pray that their response will also come from a place of love.

Because at the end of the day, if we both claim to belong to Christ, then perhaps the greater question isn't:

“Who is right?”

Perhaps the greater question is:

“Does the way I am responding look like Jesus?”

That question is for me.

And it is for all of us.

Scripture to reflect on

1 John 4:20

«“If you claim to love God but hate anyone, you are a liar. If you don't love someone you have seen, how can you love God, whom you have not seen?”»

That scripture doesn't mean we will never disagree with another person. It challenges the contradiction between claiming to love God while choosing hatred toward people made in His image.

So before I point my finger at someone else's words, perhaps I need to pause and let God examine my heart.

I have the right to write.

You have the right to feel.

But we both have the responsibility to examine our hearts.

And perhaps that is where true faith becomes visible—not when everything is easy, but when we are challenged.

May my faith be seen not only in what I say I believe, but in how I treat people when I don't agree with them. Perhaps the greater question is:

“Does the way I am responding look like Jesus?”

That question is for me.

And it is for all of us.

Scripture to reflect on

1 John 4:20

“If you claim to love God but hate anyone, you are a liar. If you don't love someone you have seen, how can you love God, whom you have not seen?”

That scripture doesn't mean we will never disagree with another person. It challenges the contradiction between claiming to love God while choosing hatred toward people made in His image.

So before I point my finger at someone else's words, perhaps I need to pause and let God examine my heart.

I have the right to write.

You have the right to feel.

But we both have the responsibility to examine our hearts.

And perhaps that is where true faith becomes visible—not when everything is easy, but when we are challenged.

May my faith be seen not only in what I say I believe, but in how I treat people when I don't agree with them.