In our family there are rules. We have 2 Rules that we repeat to each other often. In fact many people outside our family are familiar with these 2 family rules as well.
1. Don’t Lick
2. People Suck (said more nicely: People Disappoint)
Now the first rule seem a little silly. It may have originated when the children were toddlers or more likely has something to do with our dog and his desire to lick us in shows of appreciation. Clearly though there is a place for such a rule. The news reports of people opening cartons of Blue Bell ice cream and licking the ice cream and then returning it to the shelves show that some families should have had a “no licking” rule.
The second rule is one we say often in our family. Rule #2: People Suck! People fall short of expectations. People don’t follow through with what they say they will do. People behave in a way that hurts or betrays us.
Said in a more diplomatic way, people disappoint us. Because we are all fallible humans we will all disappoint others at some point. In other words, we all suck! Since we will all fail at times we must then humble ourselves and come to each other and seek forgiveness and talk things out.
Sometimes people just suck though and there is no ability for reconciliation. Jesus instructs his disciples to walk away from those who did not listen to their message or welcome them into their communities.
Matthew 10:11-15
11 “Whenever you enter a city or village, search for a worthy person and stay in his home until you leave town. 12 When you enter the home, give it your blessing. 13 If it turns out to be a worthy home, let your blessing stand; if it is not, take back the blessing. 14 If any household or town refuses to welcome you or listen to your message, shake its dust from your feet as you leave. 15 I tell you the truth, the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah will be better off than such a town on the judgment day.
Jesus tells us it is okay to shake the dust from our feet and move on sometimes. Some people we encounter in life just aren’t ready to hear the Gospel message, maybe they aren’t who we thought they were and don’t really want to hear about God or perhaps they are in denial about God and therefore will treat you harshly. You don’t have to put up with it.
In the book of Acts, Paul and Barnabas were boldly preaching about the Jews rejecting the message of Jesus and how they were taking God’s good news to the Gentiles when they were run out of town.
Acts 13:46-52
Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles. 47 For the Lord gave us this command when he said,
‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles,
to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.”
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers. 49 So the Lord’s message spread throughout that region.
50 Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town. 51 So they shook the dust from their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town of Iconium. 52 And the believers[n] were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Clearly it was most appropriate for Paul and Barnabas to react by shaking off the dust in verse 51. They shook off the dust as a sign of rejection for those that did not want to hear their message. Rejecting those that do not appreciate how you live for Jesus is okay!
Life is short and there are many that we can share God’s love with. If someone doesn’t want to hear it then move on to others that are awaiting the message. There are plenty of people you can pour into and invest you life with. God wants you to find those people because those people will seek to love and encourage you and support you and while they will disappoint you at time in life they will be ready to come and seek forgiveness and heal the relationship.
Jesus does not mean for us to be stuck sharing with people who don’t care, won’t listen or are consistently mocking us. Don’t waste your time with those that are not interested in hearing the good news of Jesus! It does not mean these people are lost forever but at this point in time they do not have the ears to hear the message of Jesus.
Your dad learned this lesson during college and spent many hours debating those in the West Mall at the University of Texas who had no intention of coming to know Jesus but loved a good heated discussion. Your daddy learned that sharing Jesus is important but we do not need to continuously share with someone who doesn’t want to hear it. It’s okay to dust off our sandals and move along to others who have a sincere desire to hear the truth.
People will disappoint us in life. When people disappoint, remember that at one time or another we all fall short of expectations others have for us.
Its been said many times around our dining table when stories from the day are told. “People Suck!” Sometimes that is the only answer to something that happened or the way people responded. We will never be able to understand people and accepting that people sometimes suck helps our family to move on!
So when that time comes when you should shake the dust from your feet and move on, remember Jesus will always be there when its all falling apart. He is your constant and sure hope when everything and everyone else sucks!