who i am hates who i'm becoming

I've been having a difficult time maintaining a relationship with a particular friend. I hope I don't come off as sounding noble but I've been putting up with her for sometime now. I don't hold a grudge against her because I'm so used to her behaviour but one can only take so much. There's a limit to these things. As a result of this strenuous friendship, I'm turning into a different person; a person whom I do not recognise anymore; a person filled with worldly thoughts...

"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

- Ephesians 4:26-27

*Edit: 10:43pm
Was catching up on friends' blogs when I came across Val's. I so needed to read what she wrote after posting the above. Very timely.

Copied and pasted.


Suffering Affliction and Going The Second Mile
"I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also." -Matthew 5:39

This verse reveals the humiliation of being a Christian. In the natural realm, if a person does not hit back, it is because he is a coward. But in the spiritual realm, it is the very evidence of the Son of God in him if he does not hit back. When you are insulted, you must not only not resent it, but you must make it an opportunity to exhibit the Son of God in your life. And you cannot imitate the nature of Jesus- it is either in you or it is not. A personal insult becomes an opportunity for a saint to reveal the incredible sweetness of the Lord Jesus.

The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is not, "Do your duty," but is, in effect, "Do what is not your duty." It is not your duty to go the second mile, or to turn the other cheek, but Jesus said that if we are His disciples, we will always do these things. We will not say, "Oh well, I just can't do any more, and I've been so misrepresented and misunderstood." Every time I insist on having my own rights, I hurt the Son of God, while in fact I can prevent Jesus from being hurt if I will take the blow myself. That is the real meaning of filling "up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ . . ." (Colossians 1:24) . A disciple realizes that it is his Lord's honor that is at stake in his life, not his own honor.

Never look for righteousness in the other person, but never cease to be righteous yourself. We are always looking for justice, yet the essence of the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is- Never look for justice, but never cease to give it.

Wow!

(emphasis, mine)
---

Wow, indeed.

There is however still one question in my mind...

How do you not let the other person take advantage of you by putting your foot down? Where do you draw the line? When is enough, truly enough?

Okay, so there's more than one question but who's counting, right? ;)