CleverPayback

00:11“Life is not a lecture”

Hey, I am Dr. Gian. Life is not a lecture. It's a set of lessons. Pull up a chair. Let's talk about how to live them.

00:36Why are some people evil?

Why are some people evil? Some choose to be cruel. Others have never learned a better way. And some act from their own pain.

00:48Three sources

Three sources. Remember, number one, they choose to be cruel. And it's hard to understand that, but there are people that just love to do evil, right? Other people, they never had a good example of somebody telling them how they can do better in life. But there is a third case.

01:09Some people are in pain

Some people simply are in pain. And as a result of them, of that, they struggle and they just retaliate. And they become difficult to deal with, unlovable sometimes.

01:25Can you help them?

And you wonder if you can help them. Of course you can. But then the next question is, how can you help them? Well, remember,

01:35A touch of kindness

many of them, what they need is a touch of kindness. You know, some people have never had the chance of individuals that can be nice to them. So they are used to always being in hostile environments. On the other hand, you know that there are people that they are

01:55Tough love

spoiled. And what they need is tough love. Tough love. Some people don't like that idea, especially parents. They say, no, no, no, no, please don't hurt my child. But

02:09Prayer always works

regardless, all that we know is going to work well to help anybody will be always prayer. Praying. Praying for people. When you are praying for somebody, actually you are giving them support. Now, when you are praying for someone that you see is difficult, unlovable, perhaps, and they are even attacking you and they sometimes offend you and disrespect you. You just feel that you are going to lose the cool, right?

02:42When you want to pay back

And you want to pay back.

02:45Patience and a willingness to listen

There is when you are going to be patient with them and you eventually need to show them willingness to listen and by hearing their stories. And by the way, when you are hearing the story of somebody in pain, make sure that you don't get into a horrible ordeal where the person is just talking about it for hours and hours and days and months and years without

03:14Keep it short

ending. Try to make it short. They need to know that you care, but you have to be intelligent how you handle it. Now, have you heard this? Somebody said this.

03:28“Do not try to get even”

Do not try to get even with a person who has done something to you. When someone slapped you, I know what you are thinking,

03:39Matthew 5:39: act differently

right? The words of Jesus in Matthew 5:39. And you are thinking, yeah, if somebody slaps me in one cheek, I need just to let him slap me on the other cheek. You know, it's not the meaning. Basically, what he was saying is when someone slaps you, act differently. That's what he was trying to tell you.

04:04Do you make yourself an easy target?

Now, is it possible that at times you place yourself in a vulnerable position, making it easier for others to bully you? Of course, those moments happen in life. However, as someone who reads and believes in and follows the teachings

04:28Reflect God's character

of the Bible, you should reflect God's character as his child. Is that true? Not always, right? Well, one of the things

04:40Feeding on the Word of God

that we need to do is continuously feeding ourselves with the word of God. We broadcast 24-7. Probably you know that. We use different types of platforms as you can see them here. And the purpose of all this broadcast is to remind anybody that hears the word of God that there is hope for everybody. And sometimes people might feel that we are persistently saying the one message that Jesus loves them. Well, sometimes people just think, "I don't get it why you are saying that. It is like this guy,

05:24A brain without instructions

this particular guy was a very dumb man arguing with God. And he said to the Lord, "God, I think you made a mistake. You gave me a brain but forgot to include the instructions." So the Lord God replied, "No, I didn't forget." The man smiled proudly and said, "See, I knew I was right." And the Lord God only took a deep breath. What I said was that I did not forget. In other words, friends, the Lord God is telling you something and

06:15God is telling you something

is not registering. And probably that is the problem.

06:20Does anyone bully the Lord God?

Does anyone bully the Lord God Almighty and disrespects the Lord? You think that this person simply get away with doing whatever they want? You know very well it's not going to happen. Now, as someone, you, who follows the Bible and seeks to reflect God's character,

06:47Why accept bullying as normal?

why would you accept bullying as if it is normal? Imagine some some Christians think that it were normal to be bullied. What are they thinking? And sometimes the problem is a financial issue. Well, I will tell you a little secret that you might not know.

07:08Malachi 3: a secret of prosperity

The prophet Malachi in the chapter number three tells us a beautiful promise from the Lord God that he will rebuke the devourer for you. When? When you give to the Lord the first 10% of your income. And somebody might be thinking right now, "Here we go. You're trying to take money off me. I'm not. I'm sharing with you a secret of prosperity. It's up to you. It is not my pocket. It is yours." But the thing is, in life,

07:42Become wise and resourceful

the key is to become wise and resourceful. What you need to do is to try to find intelligent solutions to difficult situations. And you do that when you acquire the wisdom that comes from the Lord God. With that wisdom, my friend, with the discernment that will come to you by reading the scripture and letting those principles, those biblical principles, being in your mind, in your heart, you are going to have that wisdom and discernment. And then is when you are going to reflect God's character. One of the things that you should be very, very aware of is

08:30Toxic individuals

about individuals that are toxic. That's why I encourage you to watch my message, "Toxic Relationships." The URL is here, the QR code as well. Now, if we talk

08:43Practical ways to reflect God's character

about practical ways to reflect God's character in your life, the first thing that I will tell you is show wisdom. You need to be wise, my friend.

08:54What a clever payback is not

You know, the clever payback to circumstances and people is not by being mean and retaliate just stupidly. Forgive me for using the strong word, but that's not how you do a clever payback. Actually, you acquire knowledge, acquire wisdom, and then you become wise. You know, becoming wise, intelligent in God is going to be shown

09:28Kindness, patience, self-control

through your kindness, through your patience, through your self-control. You are not going to see someone that really wise, powerful,

09:42Wise people don't lose their cool

losing the cool out of anything. Even in the most difficult circumstances, you know, even in environments where there are individuals that slap you in the face following the scripture, you are going to find that wise people, strong people in the Lord, they are not going to overreact. They don't lose the cool. Of course, you don't think that people offend me or disrespect me. Yes, they do. Online, in person, driving, in any store, everywhere, because they are everywhere. And I told you that there are reasons why they are like that. It's not necessarily that they are against me or you or somebody else.

10:36People are hurting

People are hurting. People don't know any better. It's just the way that they are. And when they are frustrated with themselves, of course, they are going to do things of that type. And then you feel the temptation to hate back, right? Well, if you want to retaliate with a clever payback, you must be wise.

10:59Wise, kind and self-controlled

And second, you are going to be kind. And as a result, you are going to show self-control. People that observe reactions of somebody of that type of reactions, rather than feeling confused or aggravated, they kind of calm down. Instead of escalating the situation, a reaction of that kind with wisdom and kindness and self-control, you are just

11:38De-escalating the situation

de-escalating the situation. And people admire that. And anybody you would, you see in a complex scenario, somebody that is calm, you just even think, how can he do that? And now let's go to another practical way to show God's character in life

12:02Give people a second chance

is by giving people a second chance when it's appropriate. Some people cross the line many times and you just say, "Enough is enough. I get it." But sometimes, friends, it's not just a second chance. It's not a third chance. You know, it's not the fifth chance. I mean, there are occasions when, think about yourself,

12:30How patient the Lord has been with you

how many times the Lord has been patient with you to give you a new chance and a new chance, and that is why somebody that is reflecting God's character will have that ability to give a new chance to somebody. Remember, there are particular circumstances when you had to close that door. But for the most part, people that are willing to change and they show you their interest, even if they fail again and again and again, you can still put certain rules in order to let them have a new chance.

13:10When it's about your enemies

Now, when it's about your enemies, because you do have enemies, I do have enemies. Meaning, not people that want to kill you or me necessarily, simply people that can't stand you. There are enemies, sometimes it's competition, sometimes it's somebody in your family or in your spouse's side of the family, somewhere in the neighborhood or in the company, even in a same church. Sometimes those individuals are there acting as an enemy.

13:50The true enemy of a Christian

The true enemy of a Christian is a spiritual enemy, is the forces of evil. But, humanly speaking, there are individuals that they act like enemies. So, how do you apply this concept of being able to do a clever payback? Well, first

14:12Stand up to your enemy

of all, you need to learn to stand up to your enemy. Bullies, they just love to mistreat others and they think, "Well, if he's a Christian, he is going just to take it." Really? I don't think so. In any particular scenario that you see someone being mean, imagine in a house, there is a woman raising kids and there is someone disrespecting the kids, disrespecting her.

14:45Bullying is not Christian character

Who says that it's a Christian-like character just to let the bully come and take abuse and mistreat that family? Who came up with this idea? There's a wrong idea, it's not biblical. On the contrary, a lady that is being bullied, attacking, mistreated by somebody, that person becomes her enemy, the God's character reflected on this lady would be to stand up to her enemy and say, "Hey, enough is enough. You must develop that strength and stop that, even if they try to do it." Well, you don't act like a Christian. You just say, "You are acting like a jerk." Well, where is the other cheek? And you will say something like, "What if you go and find it in hell? Where is where you are going if you treat people like this?" There you will find the other cheek. The thing is, you must develop that strength within yourself. You can stand up to your enemies. And let me tell you something else. There are occasions

16:07Overcome your enemy

where you have to overcome your enemy. And that is not exactly what people like to hear in a biblical message. They say, "Overcome my enemy." Well, imagine in a company, let me give you the scenario. In your company,

16:26A co-worker who wants you fired

there is a co-worker who is determined to get you fired. How do you feel about that? Imagine in a business where whatever is what you do, you have a source of income. And there is someone that is trying to get you fired, get you losing a contract with a client. How do you feel about that? And do you think you will just say, "Oh, no, if that is God's will and you are not going to fight, my friend, that is wrong." It's not what the Lord Jesus meant by saying, "If somebody slaps you in one cheek, you will turn and give the other." It's not what He meant. What He meant was, if they are doing something wrong to you, you need to think how you can handle the situation with intelligence.

17:26Handle it with intelligence

And if somebody is trying to get you fired in your company, well, honestly, if you are not comfortable working for a company, the best thing is to find another place to work. But if this company is a good company for you and they like you and they appreciate you, it's just one employee giving you trouble. Probably you need to address this with your supervisor and guess what happens quite often. Someone that is evil is going to get fired. So let's move to the next level of practical ways to reflect God's character in your

18:05Keep growing, move forward

life. It's about growing and moving forward.

18:10A godly person pays back with intelligence

A godly person pays back with intelligence. It's clever when rather than staying miserable and in bitterness and upset about the situation and you know, instead of that, a Christian intelligently is going to move forward and continue growing, looking for advancement. What could be the best way that you can pay back to evil when you do what is right and you advance in life? That is fantastic, don't you think? So I am going to give you four examples of guys that

18:53Moses

got it right. The first one that I love to talk about is Moses. Chapters three and four of the book of Exodus tells us the story of this guy who felt inadequate and he struggled with speaking, but he became a courageous leader of the

19:10Gideon

Israel. The second guy is Gideon. He was fearful and he considered himself insignificant, but he became a mighty warrior. Book of Judges chapter six

19:24Peter

and seven. The third example is Peter. You know, Peter was impulsive, but at the same time he denied the Lord Jesus. Later, however, became a bold leader of the early church. Chapters 22 of Luke and two of Acts. And finally,

19:45David

probably one of the most lovable heroes in the Bible, David. He was a young overlooked shepherd, but became a courageous warrior and a king. First Samuel chapter 16 and 17. Those are examples, my friend, that tells you that rather than feeling like losers, believers should be strengthened with the power of the Holy Spirit, with the wisdom that comes from God, and overcome things. The thing is,

20:23Focus on God

a clever payback requires focus on God. Absolutely. You must focus on the Lord, not on earthly things. You need to look for strength coming from God in prayer, in devotion.

20:43Focus on eternity

You need to focus over all things on eternity. You know very well John 3:16, the scripture that says that the Lord God loves the world so much that he gave his only son Jesus to die for you. It's a true statement. But if the Lord Jesus gave his

21:02Live this life for Him

life for you, don't you think it's correct and fair that you live this life for him? You focus on the Lord God, you focus on eternity, and then you start looking for the future of your own descendants. The future of the people you love,

21:23Your legacy

your legacy. What is your legacy, my friend? At this point, what are the memories people will have about you? I remember when this and this happened, he reacted this and this way. I remember that in every single location, this person said and did this. That's your legacy. The memories that you are creating right now through your character, precisely for that reason, is that you must be really grounded in God's word.

22:01Read your Bible

Read your Bible and if you like to read, try this. Here's a URL. This is good stuff that will see better life. And remember

22:14A little humor

that I always like to share a little humor with you. Hoping that we'll see you next time. Remember Jesus is Lord and he wants you to get it right. See you next time. A guy who thinks he is smart says to his friend, "I refuse to forgive Jimmy." His friend asked, "Why?" Didn't he apologize? "Of course he did," he replied, "but I am saving my forgiveness for someone who deserves it." Like who? Well, myself, for holding this grudge so long. A guy refused to pay interest on his credit card. The bank asked, "Why?" he said, "Because I never borrowed any interest. I only borrowed money." The bank replied, "That's not how it works." He nodded proudly. "Exactly. That is why I am disputing the interest charges." There is a couple that they are always arguing while they are going in the car somewhere. They are always arguing. So this time the guy is driving and the girl says to him, "Turn right." "Oh no, no, no, no, no. Turn left. No, no, no, no, no, no. Make a right. No, no, no. Stop, stop, stop. Make a left." So he finally pulled over and said, "Make up your mind." So she crossed her arms and replied, "Fine. Go straight." He sighed and said, at least now we are equally wrong."

Transcribed from the video and lightly corrected. Spoken words are kept as Dr. Gian said them.