Who's Treaten Who?

Matthew 7:12
"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." 
 We all have an idea of the way we would like to be treated. We all are affected by the way others treat us. Many times the way others treat us will set the tone for the rest of the day or even longer. It could be in a good way or a bad way, at just the right word or action our spirit can soar like an eagle, or we can fall into a pit of gloom and sometimes anger. But the fact remains that the actions of others will have an affect on us. My personal peeve in this subject is encouragement. Because of this fact I give my best effort and make it to be a personal goal to be an encourager. Even when I have to say the hard things, I do my best to say them in an encouraging manner. I love to encourage people it something that God has placed in me. I believe encouragement brings out the best in people. And to be honest I love it when someone encourages me. If it were up to me, "and it's not," any time anyone ever spoke to me it would be words of encouragement! Unfortunately, I live in the real world and that is often not the case. Sometimes what people say is down right discouraging. I'm not saying it is unwarranted. I'm saying it can be discouraging. Though I know I grow spiritually in discouragement, "I still don't have to like it!" I believe it is because of my distain for discouragement that I counter attack by being an encourager. I hope this is making some sense because I think it is the very thing Jesus was talking about in Matthew 7:12, "Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them," How do you want others to treat you? Treat others like you want to be treated! It's a counter attack. It is a defiant attitude! It is like saying, " I will not give in! I will not act out! I will treat others with dignity and honor regardless of how I am treated. Believers we need to wrap or hearts around this attitude and embrace it. I have a few things that God shares in His word that may help us with this. #1Whatever we do in word or deed do it as unto the LORD! This is found in Colossians 3:17. The context of the passage is teaching us how to treat others. We need to ask ourselves if we would treat Jesus in a good way a bad way? Would we be encouraging to Jesus or discouraging to Him? The believer has a responsibility to treat people as unto the Lord. #2 Consider our own faults. Matthew 7:3 says,"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?" We can be so quick to examine and correct the faults of others and forget our own. I believe it is a good thing to be your own critic and leave the rest of God's people to Him. He is the one who brings conviction and change. Too many times we are trying to do the Holy Spirits job. The Holy Spirit will tell us what we need to change but that change will always begin on a personal level. In other words the only person I can change is me and I need changing. We have plenty to do just working on self! We can start by being good encouragers! #3 Remember everyone is a work in progress. Philippians 1:6 says, "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;" No one is perfect and no one will be perfect until Jesus comes for His church. We need to remember this about each other. If we can take in consideration that every one needs Grace and Mercy then it sheds a whole new light on the way we view and treat one another. As I close this devotional I would ask you to think about how God has treated us. Not as we deserve, but with mercy and pity.  He was thinking of us while He was on that cross. We were not perfect. There was no way we could ever make it to Heaven on our own. He wanted to give us Heaven just because He wanted us to have what we would never deserve. This is what He would do for us. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. And He took the treatment that we deserved, "THE CROSS."