Unkind Words

My sons recently took part in soccer trials for their club for 2019. On Monday night, John, my oldest boy, walked from the pitch, devastated. He shared with me that one of the boys playing in his team, told John not to pass to him anymore because he didn’t know how to play soccer and wasn’t passing properly.

Now John was a member of the North Tasmanian soccer squad as well as the Northern Territory squad. He is someone that certainly knows how to play soccer. But this one rude comment made him doubt himself. He is the kindest person I know, always considering everyone else. He never has a bad word to say about anyone, and here, someone who doesn’t know him from a bar of soap, can be so unkind to him. He is the last person that deserves that, and he was shattered.

I wanted to say to him that what other people say and do to us doesn’t matter and we shouldn’t be upset by it, but I realised it wasn’t true for me. I get hurt when people say unkind things to me and I can’t just switch off my feelings. I knew the same applied to him. So I told him that it was okay to feel hurt and that it was unfair and unkind what that person said. But his ability to play fantastic soccer doesn’t depend on the comment of one person. His ability to play soccer depend on his skill, which he has a lot of, and his confidence in his ability.

You see, who we are and what we are capable of, doesn’t depend on what others think of us, it depends on what God says about us. When we are His children, we are unstoppable when we walk in His light. When we find our confidence in Him, we might be hurt by what other people say, but it won’t cause us to doubt ourselves.

Have an awesome day!