There's Good Under The Bad.

     I always have people that put me in low spirits after any conversation with them, and being their friend takes great mounds of energy. Usually there's not a lot of these in my life at once, which I'm thankful for. I don't hate them, and obviously if it bothered me enough, I would end the friendship. Someone recently asked me why it is I would continue pursuing these people when my life would be easier without them, and I gain nothing from the friendship. Well... church gave me the words I couldn't find. First off, friendship doesn't need to be driven by a consumeristic attitude. Not to say it normally isn't, I think it usually is. We subconsciously let friendships fade if we are no longer benefitting from them, or we don't begin one with someone we see us gaining nothing from. I feel though, that friendship isn't completely about what you can get. It's a lot about what you can give too. I touched on this briefly in this post. While I personally can attest that a line needs to be drawn, or a reassessment needs to be made sometimes, we often let our egos get in the way of helping someone out, or being there for someone.
     During this week's sermon, my pastor said something about people of that sort in his life. They're miserable to be around. He then popped out this little tart! "I continue to pursue those people because under that facade, is someone looking to be genuinely loved by God."
     And there we have it folks! That's to a T why I do pursue them, and why they deserve to be pursued. Because hurting people hurt people! It's very rare that I meet someone who is honestly and genuinely mean spirited. Often times, they're rude, arrogant, or sarcastic, just to hide their true pain. While this is what first comes to mind when I meet someone with a characteristic as such, I've quickly learned it's not what comes to others' minds. Someone who doesn't carry a consumeristic attitude towards friendship is often looked upon as soft, easily used, or stupid. They appear to be walked on, taken advantage of, and an idiot for continuing a relationship in which they get treated badly.
     I truly believe people have such good hearts. They just need genuine love sometimes.


I just wanted to show you, the sermon that spurred this, well, this is why I was so engaged.