Dharius Daniels - An Infection From Rejection

I want to discuss this subject during our time together: an infection from rejection. I want to interrupt your regularly scheduled worship gathering with this breaking news announcement: there is an epidemic that has invaded the environment of everyone seated in this sacred space and those watching me in the digital space. It is an epidemic that is often undetected, undiagnosed, and underestimated. It is an infection from rejection.

For those of you who may not agree, I want to contend that rejection is universal. It is ubiquitous, and it is unavoidable. No matter who you are or how much you have accomplished, you will ultimately and inevitably have to deal with the reality of rejection. I can say this confidently because the most perfect person who ever walked the face of this earth dealt with rejection. The person I’m referring to is Jesus of Nazareth. He always felt what should be felt, always did what should be done, always said what should be said, and always treated people the way they should be treated. Yet, people still rejected Him. The Scriptures put it this way: the stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. If people rejected a perfect Jesus, it is unrealistic and illogical for us to expect that people would not reject us.

Everyone, let me contemporize it: everybody has dealt with rejection. If you were denied the job, that’s rejection. If you were denied the promotion, that’s rejection. If you were broken up with, that’s rejection. If you were not picked for the squad, that’s rejection. If you were not selected for the sorority, that’s rejection. If you did not make the team, that’s rejection. If you did not receive the scholarship, that’s rejection. If you slid into the DMs and she sent you right back out, I’m sorry, that’s rejection. Everyone in every space has to deal with the reality of rejection.

And, ladies and gentlemen, rejection is a refusal on the part of someone else to accept and appreciate you for who you are and for who you’re not. Some people will accept you for who you are but reject you for who you’re not. Etymologically, the word «rejection» has Latin roots, meaning to throw backwards. That’s how the enemy, our adversary, wants to use rejection: to inhibit our advancement, to block our blessings, to stop our progress. He wants to use it to throw us backwards because rejection is a weapon that the enemy uses to wound the soul. The soul wound is a different kind of wound; it’s a wound that bleeds internally. When there is internal bleeding, you can be hemorrhaging and not know it. Did you hear what I just said? We can be hemorrhaging and not know it. And so, when we are unaware of these kinds of wounds, or when we underestimate them, we don’t properly tend to them.

This was one of the critiques that God had of the church in the Old Testament. He gives a word to a prophet named Jeremiah and says to Jeremiah, «This prophetic proclamation is not for the people; this one is for the leaders. Don’t talk to the pews this time, Jeremiah; talk to the pulpit. Don’t talk to the people; talk to the proclaimers of truth.» And He said, «You tell the leaders this: they dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. 'Peace, peace, ' they say, when there is no peace.» He offers this prophetic polemic and tells the leaders, «Stop playing with people! People are wounded, broken, and bruised, and you’re teaching them 'Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow; everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go.'» He says, «Don’t play with people who are bleeding.» He adds, «You are putting bandages on something that needs stitches. You are telling them 'peace, peace' where there is no peace, while they have unaddressed wounds.»

This is the danger of unaddressed wounds: they become subject to infection. The cut might not kill you, but the infection will. An infection from rejection can then show up in the form of pus. It can manifest as toxic personalities. Did you hear what I just said? That kind of infection can show up as pus in the form of personalities, meaning that some infections are reflected in our identity. People will call an infection their identity. See, that bad attitude—that’s not an identity; that’s an infection. That callousness, hard-heartedness, and dismissiveness—that cold-heartedness and inability to connect emotionally with someone; that refusal to allow anyone to connect emotionally with you—that is not identity; that is infection.

That people-pleasing tendency that sacrifices your purpose on the altar of someone else’s pleasure—that is not identity; that is infection. That messianic complex where I must become a messiah and swoop in to save the day for every single person, overextending myself to help people who don’t even want to help themselves—two weeks from now I’m teaching a message called «Five Types of People You Can’t Help.» But, somebody say, «That one’s for you; that’s not for me.» Yes, but swooping in and saving people, overextending yourself, and crumbling under the pressure and demands—that’s not identity; that’s infection. That timidity and apprehensiveness that prevent you from making full use of your gifts, talents, and skills—that part of you that allows you to stand on the sidelines and wait for someone to call you…