Church hurt!!

So I have this friend and for some reason she keeps asking me to shine some light on this topic and share it with you guys, so here goes!

Have I experienced church hurt personally? No!

Have I seen or know of someone who has been hurt by the church and its members? Yes!

Personally, because I haven't experienced "church hurt," I can only speak on what I know. Before I go on to speak about it I'd like to define the word "Church", church in itself is not a building it's the people, the members and those that make up the organization on a whole. Well, obviously the building can't hurt anyone so it has to be the people in it. So what exactly is church hurt? To be hurt by the church from my understanding is to be emotionally scarred by the members to the point where it can either lead one to walk away, be shaken in their faith,face the issue head on and so many other outcomes.

Now here's how I see it, people can be hurt by the "church!" And I'm a firm believer in the saying that says you can't tell someone how to feel. No matter where you are or what religion you believe in there will be something about you that stands out and most times the "church" hurt that I've seen or heard of tend to be with people who have some unique stories. I remember one being with a young lady who fell in love with a guy at a young age, was having sex and was bold about it. Bold meaning she made it known that she was in it and all the things that comes with it. Now in most religion sex before marriage is at the top of the list of 'Thou shall Nots' and therefore she was 'ostracized' for lack of a better word. When I spoke to her before I wrote this, she said she knew of other members who were living in that same sin but was hiding and therefore it led her to believe that this was one sided. "Like could they only see me, or they choose to ignore the others." She went on to explain that, that brought a negative vibe to her and made her rebellious. After a long battle with God she tried to get back to where she use to be in the church before but the label that was already been placed on her was still there and she was not welcomed with open arms so she left. There are so many examples I can use but for now let's focus on this one.

Here's what I always say, if you're watching and living your life base on what others are doing, you are looking for your downfall. I'm not a perfect human and I've had my shortcomings but I definitely understand what it means to be hurt by people you look up to and care about. Look on the bright side, the man upstairs never has or will hurt us. I remind myself on a daily that my relationship is with God and as long as I know I am living a life that is pleasing to him and that I know for a fact that my heart is set right then I'm good.

It's good to have relationship with your brothers and sisters in Christ and we should help each other and be there for one another but like any other organization there will be a few who don't grow and remains stagnant. The challenge now is for you to decide if you are going to let or give power to those who have hurt you. In times like these I am reminded of Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Or even hebrews 13:5 "I will never leave you or forsake you."

I've been hurt by people before and my parents always remind me that someone out there has it worst, so my experience can not be compared to anyone's experience but there's one thing that is common in the end, how you deal with it and the stance you take.

If you didn't catch anything in what you read, please remember to choose the better. Don't bottle it all in, find someone to talk to and trust God through it!

Philippians 4:6 says "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done."

Healing? It takes time

Trusting? Will take a while

But God never leaves his children down!

Church hurt? It's a thing alright

Have faith and trust him to make it right!

Love Serge 😘