Difficult People

1 I will sing of mercy and justice; To You, O Lord, I will sing praises.
2 I will behave wisely in a perfect way.
Oh, when will You come to me?
I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
3 I will set nothing wicked before my eyes;
I hate the work of those who fall away;
It shall not cling to me.
4 A perverse heart shall depart from me;
I will not know wickedness.
5 Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor,
Him I will destroy;
The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart,
Him I will not endure.
6 My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land,
That they may dwell with me;
He who walks in a perfect way,
He shall serve me.
7 He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house;
He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.
8 Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land,
That I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the Lord.
Psalm 101

This is a great teaching on how to deal with people who are not interested in being part of the church to heal and grow. King David knew that not only did he have to walk in humility and integrity, he had to deal with those who worked in his kingdom that wouldn’t. Of course we are not talking about the downtrodden, broken people who are trying to grow in Jesus but those who refuse to change. We are looking at those who are clinging to perverseness in themselves.

Look at what David said after his own integrity was shored up. I HATE the work of those who fall away. He didn’t hate those who fell away but he hated what they accomplished in their sphere of influence. Those who stayed with their perversity would not be comfortable around him they would depart. As the king he would destroy slanderers. He would not put up with arrogance. Liars would be expelled. He would watch out for the faithful. His policies would support those who were moving towards godliness. There would be a place for them under his care. David also decided to act promptly. His procedures would be timely.

Too often we act after the damage is done as leaders in the church, leaders in our homes, and participants in our life. We need to follow David’s lead by dealing with the unpleasant people in our live upfront. Sooner not later. Our confrontation should be loving. It should allow for repentance and reconciliation. But it should be clear that arrogance, deceit (including manipulation), perversity, and slander is not acceptable to us. We can not quietly accept the negative behavior without condoning it. When dealing with difficult people, loving, clear, prompt communication followed up with actions that match what we say. Otherwise we are dealing falsely with them.

Lord, help me lead like you,

Pastor Jason