Loving Those Who Reject You

Q: If you show love, kindness, and care, to someone but they are indifferent to you, should you just leave them alone? Should a person voice to the other their sadness over the relationship?

A: It's hard to continually show kindness when it's not received well. Your intentions are good. Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). So your loving feelings don't need to stop, but you don't have to allow them to ignore, be rude, or even sin against you.

This might be a situation where the use of  boundaries would be wise. Being honest while expressing your limits invites the other person to take responsibility for their attitude and respond appropriately. So let them know how you feel, but detach when necessary so you aren’t being taken advantage of. I wrote another article on How to Set Boundaries that might be of help. —T.A.

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