A License To Abuse.

What do we do when those closest to us take advantage of our kindness? Mistreat us? Disrespect us? Situations as simple as offering to babysit until a certain time, but your relative comes back extremely late, doesn't call and has an attitude. Perhaps you loan a friend money or co-sign for an apartment and they don't pay you back or they fail to keep the lease agreement and you are stuck paying their bill and end up with bad credit. Possibly you have experienced having someone "borrow" something from you without asking and then when you ask them about it, they get defensive and act as if you did something wrong by asking about it. It's at these moments that four responses typically come to mind; scratching your head in confusion and surprise at the gall of this person; Wanting to scream and holler and try to explain to the person how badly they have hurt you and why;Wanting to flip out and give them a beat down and lastly praying for forgiveness and understanding. I put prayer last not because it is the least important, but as a spiritual being having a human experience, I often respond with my human feelings first and then connect with the God in me. I wish I could say that these situations are isolated incidents and that they are easy to deal with because they don't happen very often, but not! Unfortunately these interactions with family and friends seem to becoming more frequent and more acceptable as evidenced by these reality talk, divorce, family and court shows; increased violence among family members; bad business deals and on and on. I am not sure why there seems to be such a break down of respect, consideration and yes even love, but I do know that it makes society worse, not better. I know that not all incidents are intention,but I do believe that each individual in their sound mind is is the controller of their own actions. I believe that in a sound mind, we understand the difference between right and wrong and good and bad. I also believe that in our sound minds we know how painful emotional hurt can be and if it hurts to us, it is quite possible it will hurt for someone else. It seems as if there is more acting before thinking. The typical response for getting caught in bad behavior is to apologize, but I believe that if we know enough to know that it is wrong, hurtful, unethical, etc. than we know enough not to do it to begin with. My father told me that if I did not stand for something, I would fall for anything. My mother told me that what ever is in the dark will come to the light. The blind cannot lead the blind, so if you don't want to fall and break your neck when you enter a dark room, turn the light on before you go in and let the light shine so all can see. Peace.