Show Love Anyway

Loving people you actually like is easy. Loving the person who talks about you, prays on your downfall, or seems committed to misunderstanding you is the real test and it is exactly where this conversation goes. We lean on Luke 6:35-36 to explore what it means to love your enemies, do good, and show mercy without turning kindness into a transaction. If you’ve ever felt the urge to keep score, demand payback, or chase credit for the “small part” you played, this one will challenge you in the best way. 

We get practical about forgiveness and emotional self-control. Sometimes the most powerful response to hate is calm: refusing to be rattled, refusing to perform outrage, and refusing to let someone else’s bitterness become your personality. We also talk about discernment and boundaries, because mercy does not mean inviting chaos into your life. When someone refuses peace no matter what you try, walking away can be wisdom, not weakness. 

A deeper thread runs through the episode: many people act mean because they never received love, support, or safety. We talk about noticing what others miss, especially with young people, and how a simple “I see you” can interrupt isolation and help prevent tragedy. The takeaway is clear and searchable: Christian forgiveness, mercy, spiritual growth, and inner healing are connected. The healing begins with you, and sometimes the holiest move is to hush and let God handle hearts first. 

If this message hits home, subscribe, share it with someone who needs peace, and leave a review or a comment with the hardest forgiveness you’re working on right now.

Transcript

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Hello one and all, it is me, Stephanie, and before we start to set our soul free, I want to remind you to don't forget to subscribe to the channel, click the like, and leave a comment. Also, don't forget to hit the little notification bell so you know when new videos post. As always, I know we won't always agree, and that's okay. Man wasn't meant to always agree with one another. That's what makes our world that God created unique because everyone has a difference of opinion, and I'm okay with it. Leave your comments so we can keep the conversation going. Remember, it's not about me, it's about you, it's about our youth, it's about setting our souls free with me, Stephanie. So let's get into it. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, good night. Wherever you are, in whatever part of the country you may live in, I greet you and say thank you for blessing me with your presence. It is time to set your soul free with me, Stephanie. So let's see what we can be blessed with today. Hello, hello, hello. It is me, Stephanie, and it's time to set your soul free. Today we're gonna talk about we have to show love. I know for some people that'll probably make you cringe because the thought of loving someone you can't stand is just not on your list of things to do this lifetime. But to be true heirs to the throne, we have to show love even when we don't want to. Luke six thirty-five and thirty six But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend hoping for nothing again, and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the highest, for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your father also is merciful. So these verses are saying that we have to love our enemies and do good, doing what we can for them and not expecting anything in return. That last part is impossible for humans. I'm just sorry, it's not happening. We can't do something for someone with and not expect something in return. We may not ask for it right away or at that particular moment, but at some point we want to get rewarded for our good deeds. Whether it be you on the slide telling people what you did to help someone out, someone did good and they're getting an award for it, and you got to put your sixth cents into it that it was because of what you did, and blah, blah, blah. We always got to find a way to weasel our way into someone else's victory. Like the little small part we played was the big factor into what they got, and it was probably the smallest part of it all that don't even get an honorable mention. But we have to be recognized. This is how we miss out on so many blessings because we did something only to get something in return, and that is not what God intended for his children. As children of the king, we are to do good deeds because we're supposed to, not because we want something in return. Did you hear that part? We are to do good deeds because we are supposed to, not because we are wanting something in return. Um, a preacher that we used to have at my church, one thing he said is when you lend something to someone or borrow it, just don't expect to get it back. Because that's where the problem lies. You're lending somebody something and you're letting somebody borrow something and you're expecting to get it back or getting it back in the same way that it was when you lent it to them. If you really don't want them to have it, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't bother giving it to them. Because some people you know if you lend something to them, it's either gonna come back destroyed, nowhere looking the way it was when you gave it to them, or you may not get it back at all. So why why even bother giving it to them? Because you already know how it's gonna, you you already know what the outcome is gonna be. And then that's gonna be a whole different argument to go with the other three or four arguments the other three or four times you lent them something. Well, you know what's gonna happen, so why do you keep doing it? But this part of it is we're supposed to do things and not expect something in return. How many blessings have you missed out on? Because you had something that could have helped someone, but you didn't do it, or you had something and you let somebody and you helped them with it, but then you're expecting it back in return. That's not what he wants us to do because if that's the case, we all owe the Lord a lot, and none of us can pay it back. So if he's not asking for what he's done for us to be paid back to him, how do we have the audacity to ask someone to pay us back for something we did? Because truthfully, what you lent them is what God lent you. And if he didn't ask for it back, why are you asking for it back? Didn't think about that, did you? We are to love our enemies regardless if they don't, if we don't like the ground they they walk on, or if they don't like that we breathe the same air. We are supposed to love them regardless, not only love them, but help them if they need it and not ask for nothing in return. Again, hard for us humans to do that basically to love someone who can't stand you, wishes nothing but bad things for you, and even praise for your destruction, yeah, you gotta love them anyway. Jesus faced far worse, and he did nothing wrong, but he still loved them, he forgave them, and even helped his enemies, even though they despised him so much. So it goes back to if he can sit there and forgive, why come we can't? What makes us so special that you know we can't forgive someone for something they may have done to us? What makes us so special? You know, this is the man who went about just preaching his father's word, helping the people that they nobody even wanted to talk to, much less touch. Here he is helping this person, giving this person, bringing this person from the dead, healing this person over here, done nothing wrong but help those that nobody else wanted to help. And he got betrayed in the biggest way possible, but he still was able to forgive. But we can't. Someone says something bad about us, we're ready to fight. Someone doesn't like something that we've done, we're ready to sit up and talk about the 10 things we don't like that they've done. That's not how this works. You know, we're being tested every day by our father. One thing I keep saying is I will not be held accountable by no man, no woman, or no child when I get up to glory because they have done something that I have now have to be held accountable for. You're not finna stop me from seeing my earthly father in glory. No, sir. I don't, no, ma'am. We're not doing that. We're not doing that. Now, are you does that mean you have to accept the people that that don't like you? Yeah, that's that's part of what being the child of the one true king is. You lead by example, and our father showed that despite how they may treat you, you are not to return that favor. If they hate you, you love them anyway. What I have learned growing up is and what I've seen personally, because like I said, I tell you stuff that I've seen, been a part of, not what I heard. What I have seen a lot is what irritates those people that don't like you the most is when it's not bothering you. You know, people like that feed off of people getting upset because they found out that this person doesn't like them. When they feed off of it when they found out how it bothered them, how they were asking questions. Well, what did I do? I didn't even do nothing. And that just makes them so happy because they got up under your skin to make you think about it. But what I found out what bothers them more, what drives them nuts, what keeps them up more at night than coming up with the scheme to sabotage you in the first place, is when they find out that you knew and you don't care. How do they know you don't care? Because they still, because we still come up and talk to you anyway. It drove people nuts. I know what they said about me. Did I care? Nah, didn't bother me at all. I knew what they said, I knew what they tried to say. But see, you don't come for me like that because I know what I said, who I said it to, why I said it, and I can even tell you what I was wearing when I said it. I know exactly what I say and who I say it to. And you have telling truths, you don't need to tell stories on me. I can do that better myself. Because trust me, I can ad lib way more better than you can. I can make the story more interesting than you can too. And I know it bothered them because I'm sitting right up in their face, sitting up there talking to them, sitting up there hoo-hoo, ha hain with them and everything. And the look on their face is like, yeah, you think I didn't know. Yeah, I know, but you're not supposed to bother me. I got more important things to think about than what I did to you 10 years ago that just came back around today. I got better things to do, and sadly you're not one of them. But it's hard for other people to love someone and you can't stand the ground that they walk on. You just can't stand that they taking breaths the same time you taking breaths. It bothers a lot of people, and that's yet another blessing or two or three that you're missing out on because you could not love them anyway. People do things hateful for a reason. Sometimes it's something that happened in their life a while ago, and yada yada, and they just don't like seeing people happy. The thing I knew growing up back then was misery hates company. Man, misery done got a family reunion now, so now everybody involved in it. Misery don't not only don't like company, misery just don't like you being happy at all. And that's how a lot of people are. So it's like there's most of the time there's always a reason why people are mean. I ain't gonna necessarily say evil, why people are just mean. And majority of the times it's because they never receive love themselves, they never receive support themselves. And for them to see someone succeeding, even if it's not necessarily financially, and on social media is not even about how many likes you get, it's just the point of they see people supporting you, and they never got that support. Is that's more than enough for them to go on a sabotage rampage just for that reason, whatsoever. We are to show mercy the same way Jesus showed mercy and still shows it for us. People make bad decisions, mistakes, and treat others bad, but there may be a reason for all the mean things that they do. A lot of times it's something traumatizing. Something that happened to them, you know. Once upon a time they probably loved any and everybody, and then something happened, and it changed their whole aspect on humanity. And I know for a fact that's what a lot of people that once upon a time they was always forgiving, always turned the other cheek to they had no more cheeks to turn, and but one instance changed everything. They don't trust no more, they don't believe no more, they don't love no more, they rather just keep themselves isolated, not talking, not participating. They just rather be alone than to interact because of something that happened. That's why I always tell people, you know, if somebody does something, you need to figure out the reason why, because there's a reason why they're being the way that they are. And for all we know, all it may take is that one person saying, I see you. I love you, I'm here for you. Talk to me. You don't know how many lives you can save, how many mass killings you just probably prevented because someone actually got noticed and is able to talk through whatever it is that is bothering them. You know, a lot of people are mean because of things that happen, past, present, whatever. A lot of people are mean because of things that happen, and that's why I tell the young people all the time that the joke you may have cracked with your friend yesterday may cause an issue tomorrow because you don't know what people go home to, if they even have a home. You don't know what goes on in their lives when they separate from you, whenever they're at school or wherever them people are at work, that's their peace, that's their calm. They're amongst people that they like, and then they go home. And it's totally different. You never know what someone is going through that the next day they're like to heck with it all. I'm ready to go and I'm gonna take as many people as I can with me. You don't know. As children of God, it is our duty to find out the problem and get a peaceful resolution to it. We can't do our job for God if we are always upset because of what someone said about us or what someone did to us. Remember, at some point you did the same thing to someone else. That's the part that makes me laugh every time I think about it. All these people have done things to them, but you forgot what you did in the first place. You know that what goes around comes around, and I have been around long enough to see it happen that you forget that your action just caused a delayed reaction because the universe had to make its way to make it revolve around before it came back and hit you again, and then you want to get all upset, hot, and bothered because of what someone did. Well, did you remember what you did to them first? Or someone does something to you and you're all having a hissy fit, as the as the older generation would say. You up there having a hissy fit, and I'm looking at you like, but didn't you just tear into such and such about two minutes ago? And you're worried about this. It's amazing how when things bad happen to us, we all make become the victim, but you don't think about the people that you hurt up until that point. You don't think about the people that you're getting ready to hurt because your little feelings got broke. And you wonder why young people don't come to the church. You wonder why. Because you got church folks saying one thing, doing something else, and the young people are like, well, why would I need to go to church for to be a bunch of well, be around a bunch of hypocrites when I can just be around the real ones who keep it real? Instead of me going to church, listening to you, and before your feet even gets off a holy ground, you sitting up there doing what you just told me not to do. As children of God, it is our duty to find the problem and get a peaceful resolution. Now, I'll say that to say this. Some people just don't want peace. You can try everything you do, you can call off all the disciples, Mary Magdalene, all the Marys, the Ruth, the Boaz, you can call up anybody you can think of from the Bible, they just will not take the peace. That's when you learn to walk away. I have walked away from so many situations, it is mind-boggling. One, because I knew what was gonna happen before it was gonna happen. So to prevent foolishness, I just didn't even bother. If I saw them coming, I just went a different direction because I know what was getting ready to happen. I'm like, nope, not today. I got other things to do, and you are not on my list of things to do today. Sometimes you just have to. Does that show that you're weak? No, that shows that you're strong because you know how to avoid a situation before it happens. Because going through that situation, and you know what's gonna happen, and you know it's gonna tick you off to where you're gonna give the person what they need. You fussing. Well, they just achieved their goal, they're happy, they walk away, they done they done achieved their to-do list for the day, and now you got to be held accountable for what you did because you knew what was gonna happen, and you chose to do it anyway. So, today you need to forgive an enemy, or for some people it's the world, you know. Who knows? Every some people are just mad at the world. So, for some of us, it's to forgive your enemy, for the rest of us, forgive everybody, forgive the planet, forgive the galaxy, forgive who you ever need to forgive. Whatever they did, forgive them and show them mercy. When the time is right, Jesus will tell you what to do next to repair the relationship. There have been so many times where I wanted to say something to somebody, but my father said, Nope, I need you to hush. Let me do me. I don't need you, Michael Manager. And I've learned to be quiet because sometimes he can do more damage to someone than I ever could, and I won't be held accountable for it because I didn't do it, and I have seen it, I have seen my father step in on my behalf and do something that I couldn't even think of and get the point across, and then allow me to go and repair the relationship if it was repairable. Most of the times it was because it was something stupid, you know. Back then you were young, ignorant, dumb, vulnerable, invincible. You know how we were back then. Kids are worse today, but it was a time where sometimes we just need to sit down and shut up. I mean, that's there's there's no nicer way to put it. Sometimes you just need to sit down and hush, as the older generation would say. Just hush. Stop your lips from jabbing for a minute and hush. Because God's gonna take care of it, but he can't take care of it if we sit over his back micromanaging. He does not need our assistance in no shape, way, or form. Let God do God. It will be placed in your spirit when you can go up there and talk to him. It'll be placed in your spirit what you need to say to them. Because while we're sitting over here being quiet, my father's already looked into their heart and to their soul. He knows what the problem is, and he's starting on repairing that first. So when you come back to them, they're healed, and then they can listen, and then you can find out exactly what the cause of it was in the first place, and come to that peaceful resolution. So today, just forgive those who did wrong against you. Let the healing begin, but it has to start with you. One thing that I tell couples who I mentor and minister and give advice to, um, one of the things I tell them is how you expect God to bring someone into your life when your life is a mess. I mean, seriously. Your life is in shambles, it's chaotic, it is organized chaos. And you think the Lord is gonna bring a man or a woman into your life, and your life is like that after he done worked to get this person's life together, and you think he's just gonna drop them into your life with the way your life is? Uh-uh. The Lord is not gonna bring somebody to you until he fixes you first, and the longer it takes for you to let the Lord do his work so you can do what you need to do, the longer it's gonna be before you find somebody, or the person you find will be just like you. And now both of y'all jacked up. Everything we Do has a purpose, every soul we touch has a reason, but the healing has to start with us. You can't give advice, you can't be that mentor, you can't give that hug, you can't give that love, you can't pray over someone else when your life is up-ended itself. What I have learned is we respond better to like-minded people, meaning when we have our favorite televangelist on the TV. Mine is Joyce Myers. Love her to death. That is how I do my ministry, is by watching her because I love that she tells stories about life. That she's not sitting directly behind a podium, she's telling you stories about life, and they're funny. Lord knows my life is a running reality show of a joke. So I got stories upon stories, and what I have noticed is that people are more relatable because they see that you're just as human as they are. You know, a lot of people see how I am now. When I tell them how I was back then, they're looking at me like, wait, what? Yeah, yeah. But it makes them want to listen to me now because okay, if that's how you were back then, but I'm seeing how you are now, which I'm still a toy short from a happy meal, so let's not make it seem like I am totally better. I am not, but I'm not ashamed to talk about what I've been through. I'm not because I'm still here for a reason. What's my favorite song? I am living testimony. Lord knows I should have been dead and gone because of the ignorant stuff I used to do, but Lord, you let me live on, and I'm so glad to be here because I'm here to let other people know. Yes, we make mistakes, yes, we make bad decisions, yes, we hang around the wrong people, or as I tell young people, let the wrong people hang around us. Yes, we've done all of that. We are not perfect, he knows we're perfect. There's not a person in this galaxy that is perfect, but we need to own up to the things that we do. Don't be ashamed of the mistakes you made because the mistakes you made is what somebody else is going through now, and they need to know that there is light, they need to know that there is hope, they need to know that there is someone else who did the same ignorant thing that they did, and they're living their life just fine. A lot of our young people need to know that, yes, as adults, we've made a lot of mistakes. That the mistakes that they're making, please, we made them way back then. The only difference now is that there's no social media, so there's no evidence. Other, but other than that, we did the same thing you did, and we're still here. And if he, meaning our father, can forgive us for the ignorant things that we knew we knew we shouldn't have done. If our father can forgive us, we need to make sure these young people know that he they can be forgiven as well. They don't have to actually come to a priest or a pastor and confess their sins. Your father's right there. You can sit in your car before you cut the car on and have your moment with the Lord. He's always been there, he's never gone, he's never left you, he's just waiting on you to talk to him because he's not gonna make you. Because that's the one friend I know. If he gives me advice, oh, I'm following it to the T. Because I know he knows what's coming up around the bin, and he's preparing me for that. So, again, today forgive your enemies, show them mercy, do what's right, because again, the healing begins with you. Amen. Let us pray. Father God, we come here today to say thank you. Thank you, Father God, for yet another day. Father, there is someone who didn't get to see today, Father, either because it was their time or someone made it their time. But Father, we come here today to say thank you for giving us another day to make the wrongs right. Father, we pray for the enemies that we have within our lives, souls that are seen and some that are unseen. Father, we ask for your protection to give us that eye of discernment so we know when someone is doing for our good, and we know when someone is praying for our bad. Father, we pray for forgiveness. Father, we pray for the patience to do what we know is right, being a true child of the King. Father, we thank you for the grace and mercy that you always show upon us, even though we do not please you in the way that you should be pleased. Father, we thank you for giving us yet another day to try, try again. Father, I pray for those under the sound of my voice who are going through something that no one knows, that all they got to do is come to you to talk it out with you because your answer is waiting on them. Father, we thank you, we praise you, we give you all the honor and glory in your son Jesus' name. We pray. Amen. And as always, because my spirit wouldn't sit right if I never said it, as always, be that light in someone else's darkness. Stay safe, stay blessed.