Cheryl Schatz

Frank,
Thanks for the kind words! When all of this “stuff” was going on, it was very discouraging but I was quite naive because I had not seen someone act this way before, and I was hoping that common sense would rule. I am thankful to the Lord that I am no longer so naive. When I come across a person who displays the character traits that I saw in my accuser, I move on. For that lesson, I am grateful. In this case, trying to be nice only got more abuse.

But God really is good! I have lots of compassion for those who are hurting and I even have a lot of compassion for those who are fighting women in ministry because they think the Scriptures mandate the silence. That compassion allows me to treat these people like human beings. If they are willing to communicate, even if they are angry, I don’t have a problem. I do have problems if they lie to me and are deceptive. But if people are attacking what they don’t understand, but they are willing to fight it out and be reasonable, I think they should be given the benefit of the doubt and I try to help them with arguments that made a difference in my own life.

For those whose only business is to persecute me, I don’t go and bother them or mock them back. God will deal with them and I can even have a hand by praying for them. And I do believe that there is a reward for enduring persecution. God is honorable and He pays attention.