Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Tuesday 11/17/09)

Today's Devotional Written By The Serious Minded and Committed: Tracy Koweh

Tit for Tat

Psalm 116:5 (New Living Translation)

⁵ How kind the Lord is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours!

Have you ever been in a relationship with someone that always had to go tit for tat with you. Over the last decade of my life, I’ve encountered several different types. There is the person, that no matter how hard or great your trail or testimony is, they have one that’s harder or greater. Then there is the person, that if you do something wrong they point out several other things you don’t do to great either. Or how about the person who does something wrong, is caught, and then turns the spotlight on the time you did that in your past.

Although these relationship dynamics are unhealthy, I want to talk about the friend who goes tit for tat only when it benefits them. I can recall several situations involving guys I’ve dated, that the second I popped an attitude they did too. The moment I tripped about something silly, they used that as a green light to trip too. It’s almost like they were waiting on me to do something wrong so they could jump on the band wagon and get me back. Now what’s really crazy about all of this, is the fact that this is not the part that bothered me. It was the fact that the tit for tat was only used on my negative behaviors.

If I gave gifts, gifts were not given back. If I called, wrote or texted “just because” the same wasn’t done for me. There were plenty of times I dropped plans, made sacrifices and made myself totally available, only to find myself alone and stranded in my time of need. Then a few days ago God raised the question, “What if He went tit for tat with us?” How would that change our relationship with Him, and our life in generally?. What if God measured your blessing, simply by how much time you spent with Him versus Facebook, baby boo, or whatever else has your attention? What if God choose to answer your prayer, only when you choose to obey His request? What if God gave you your financial status, based upon how much you gave to His kingdom?

Today let us live a life, that if God decided to go tit for tat with us, we would still be Blessed and Highly favored. Let us make God a daily priority, and not a situational necessity.