Bless those who persecute you. Bless them, and don’t curse them.
Romans 12:14
When you selfishly fight for your rights, you stab Jesus in the heart. When you demand things go this way or that, you might not hurt anyone else, but you do persecute him and cause him to suffer because of your disbelief. You say you love the Lord and you even teach others about him, but your behavior says something different when you stand for anything other than Jesus Christ himself.
Remember, Jesus’ call to you is humility. He says, “learn from me, because I am gentle and humble” (Matt. 11:29). He never demanded respect or stood up for his rights. Instead he “left everything to the one who judges fairly” (1 Peter 2:23). Don’t demand more rights than the Son of God himself would demand. When you are mistreated, stand up for what’s right, but don’t take revenge. Let God take care of it (see Rom. 12:19). When someone else gets something better than you do, humbly say, “That’s okay, I got much more than I deserve when Christ saved me.” Trust God with everything and focus on the needs of other people instead of yourself.
When you live your life as Jesus did, you won’t be concerned about being slighted, put upon, or ignored because all your thoughts and hopes will be on him. That is true freedom and true faith. Don’t let your thoughts of what you want or “deserve” overpower the life of Christ in you. Instead practice being one with him in meekness and humility.