Read: Proverbs 1:7; Isaiah 2:22; Psalm 12:6
This week, Gene Hackman along with his wife Betsy and one of their dogs were found dead in their home. The causes of their deaths has not yet been determined. Mr. Hackman was 95 years old, and the list of the movies in which he acted is very long. I remember him as Lex Luther in Superman, and a friend of mine reminded me of how much she enjoyed him in Hoosiers. As I sometimes do, I looked up a few articles about his life. Wondering if he perhaps ever spoke about Jesus or any other religious leader. Nothing is apparently known about that part of his life; however, I learned that his reactions to difficult circumstances and unflattering words helped shape his life in what turned out to be a positive way. Hackman sometimes spoke about the source of his drive. Sadly, his father abandoned his family when Gene was 13 years old. He simply departed. He merely waved, as his son who was in a neighbor's yard, watched him go.
“It was a real adios,” Hackman told Vanity Fair. “It was so precise. Maybe that’s why I became an actor. I doubt I would have become so sensitive to human behavior if that hadn’t happened to me as a child — if I hadn’t realized how much one small gesture can mean.” Sensitivity out of sadness. Learning the value of even the small things. Not becoming embittered because of the rejection of his father.
Such important lessons, but there was something else that stood out as I was reading those articles. Mr. Hackman didn't listen to discouraging words. For example, both Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman were voted least likely to succeed by their peers. I wonder if any of those who made those assessments about those two storied men have eaten their words? Talk about words that turned out to be blatantly false! How good it is that Mr. Hackman learned helpful lessons from the rejection he experienced as well as the less than encouraging words he heard, and he likely learned these not having the truths that nourish us. Rock solid truths from the Bible. Let's be reminded of a few of them and how we can encourage not only ourselves, but perhaps others with these same truths.
1. When we experience rejection.
Sadly, rejection comes in many shapes and sizes. Too many people, like Gene Hackman have been rejected by a father or a mother. The Bible holds out tender truth concerning this pain.
“Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.” – Psalm 27:10. As God's loved children, we can never be separated from His love. “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” – 1 John 3:1
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:38-39
Knowing that God loves us like this does not mean that we will not feel pain if someone rejects us. As we hurt when injured physically, we also hurt if someone walks out of our lives, but we have an anchor and a refuge. We have the Lord, and there is something very precious that we know because we belong to Him. He understands how it feels to face rejection of any kind, Hebrews 4:14-16.
In Matthew 8:34, we are told that Jesus was compelled by the people of a town to leave their region. What had he done? He had healed a tortured demoniac. Talk about rejection. In Mark 6:3, Jesus' own hometown people rejected him because they were so familiar with both him and his family members. After all, wasn't He merely the carpenter? In Luke 4:29, the rejection of Jesus became even more flagrant. The people were so indignant that they tried to kill Him. In Luke 23:18, when Pilate offered to release Jesus, the crowd chose Barabbas instead. Choosing the criminal's release instead of their King's. The ultimate rejection. He has surely undergone the pain of rejection to ensure that someday, rejection of all kinds will cease, John 16:33.
2. When we experience words that are discouraging.
There are two kinds of discouraging words. Some words that are true and some that are not. Let's look at the true ones first. The ones we know hit home because they line up with the heart of God. Words that remind us when we have spoken in an inappropriate way or hurt someone unnecessarily. Truths expressed to us if we are overtaken in a sin, Galatians 6:1. The possibilities are many because we at times don't see when our lives are not honoring God. These kinds of words might be painful at first; however, when we think them over, the truth of them helps us change for the better.
Second let's look at the other kind of words. The ones that wound simply to wound or tear down. What do we do with them? We reject them when we know that their source is not the Lord. Sadly, many people have such words that bounce around in their thinking. Words of denigration that were thrown out carelessly. Perhaps even years ago. Words that might still cut deeply. The assessments and disapproving words of people that sometimes continue to ring loudly in our ears. Thankfully, we are not left without a remedy because God wants to help us change our focus from man's opinion to His. It starts with reverencing God's truths over man's.
Isaiah 2:22 reminds us that God is the one to be held in awe not people. When what people say or have said about us differs from what God has said, we are to choose God's Word. That is not easy at times, and our emotions often default and go along with our old thinking; however, God will strengthen and help us to do what honors Him, Philippians 2:13.
It is easy for any of us to begin to listen to what people say rather than what God has told us. Proverbs 29:25 calls it the fear of man and warns us that thinking like that can ensnare us because our reliance, even ever so slightly at first, shifts from God to man. We can easily forget that God's truthful affirming words trump the unkind and untrue assessments of people. After all, God's Word is flawless including the truth about His children. It can be like healing ointment that can soothe and heal the places that have been injured by the cruel words that people have spoken, Psalm 34:18; Psalm 147:3. No wonder Proverbs 1:7 reminds us that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Seeing the world including people from God's point of view begins by honoring Him with our reverent fear.
When we revere someone, we respect his opinion. Of course, man at his best is often mistaken.
How good it is to know that we can rest in everything God has said because His Word, including what He has said concerning us, is wholly trustworthy, Psalm12:6; Psalm 19:7.
Lord, Thank You for teaching us both in the joyous times and when we experience hard stuff.
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