Kicking People When They're Down

There are some people in life whose entire goal is kicking you when you're down.  Their goal in life is to make your daily comings and goings miserable so that they can feel better about their own life.  These people are pack creatures (for lack of better terminology) and suck to the joy right out of you.  They move with others like them, those that egg them on in their endeavors, and make them feel like what they're doing and how they're treating people is right.  They strike out at those whose opinions do not match their own and they alienate themselves from anyone who is not part of the pack.  They are often wolves in sheep's clothing, having others believe that they are the victims, the innocent ones who know no different.   They walk around cursing you while making themselves seem so pitiful.  Meanwhile, they laugh at your defeat.

I see this in friends, or people that call themselves friends.  I see it in co-workers.  I see it in neighbors.  I see it in extra curricular activities.  But nothing is more disturbing to me as when I see it within families.  To take that a step further, nothing is more disturbing than when I see it in a parent-child relationship.

I take this back to previous posts on taking responsibility for your actions.  Now while this DOES apply to the children once they hit a certain age, this is more pointed at parents.  When a parent spoils their child completely rotten, never giving them real discipline and always giving in to what they need, it gives the child a sense of entitlement.  It teaches children that they aren't responsible for anything, ever.  By the same token, the other end of the spectrum is also true.  If you abandon your child (emotionally, mentally, etc) and they don't have another caregiver to step into that role, you deny your children the ability to learn  how to do things correctly.  While they have to be responsible for their own well being, they never learn how to be responsible for the other things in life.  You deny them the ability to grow up knowing how to behave.

I say all of that to say this: a parent that treats their child as a burden or kicks them when they are down is one of the lowest forms of wolf pack.  Siblings that do this to each other are closely after.  Friends, neighbors and others...join the club.  Rest assured, friend, karma will come back around.  Everyone gets their godsmack and when you find a time in your life that you are in need, God will perfectly design it so that your only hand up will be the same person you kicked while they were down.  You see, God has a funny sense of humor.  Here's the question: will those people you kicked still be there for you?

The answer to this is a mixed review but I can tell you this.  I would still be there.  It's not because I think that the people that kick me when I'm down deserve it.  They don't.  The fact is, I believe that it's what God would want me to do.  It's how God would want me to behave.  The "human side" of me wants to kick back and say "hahaha" but the side of me that knows better knows that acting that way is NOT my job.  Teaching them a lesson is NOT my job.  My job is to love them where they're at and understand that they'll eventually learn the lesson that comes with that.  Kicking them when they're down is not the solution.

So the next time you're thinking about "teaching someone a lesson" or the next time you're a victim of someone kicking you when you're down, remember that karma does, indeed come back around.  Those that intentionally hurt others will get their godsmack.  Those that are the victims of this will get their blessings for making it through such a trial.  Keep your chin up.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel.