Silence is Acceptance

It is said that we often teach people how to treat us, just by allowing it. When we do not object to being bullied and emotionally or for that matter, physically abused, it is our silent way of telling the perpetrator that we accept it. It does not matter who is doing the abuse, we need to make a stand and let them know that we deserve better.  They will never feel it necessary to apologise if you have not made known that you have been hurt and offended by their words or actions.

So often when we have conflict in our relationships, we cringe away in fear, keep silent and instead pray for peace like it's a magic wand to remove the friction - instead of allowing God to use the conflict to bring a more solid kind of peace.  Very often it is the friction that is the catalyst that will smooth out the bumps, when handled correctly.  

By bottling up our offences and not expressing our emotions, we are just delaying the explosion, because the truth is that negativity ALWAYS has a way of becoming exposed, one way or another!  God often doesn't want our prayers for peace when there are obvious issues that need to be addressed and dealt with.  There are too many people who wear a smile on their faces, but who are carrying a bandaged and bruised heart, only because they continue to carry on as normal, pretending nothing was said or done and acting as if they deserve it! 

Sometimes in life, we don't only need the peace and calmness of a lamb, but also the courage and boldness of a lion...