Be Honest
Do you ever just get annoyed with people? Honestly, do people sometimes just get on your nerves? Let’s be real. I’m thinking of those moments when something isn’t even really a big deal, but if I have to pick up my son’s race cars and monster trucks one more time I might lose my mind. Also, those days when you’re on your way to work or taking the kids to school and that car in front of you wants to drive 5 mph below the speed limit. What about the person in the grocery store who puts 15 items on the belt when the sign clearly states “10 items or less.” Do any of these sound familiar? These are some of the moments for me, where I find myself annoyed and frustrated with people. Moments where, if I’m being honest, I probably don’t have a very Christlike attitude in my heart towards them. Maybe some of these situations ring true to you, or maybe you’ve got some of your own areas that you struggle with loving people in the moments where you’d rather not be so loving.
God’s Word
Since we’ve gotten our own feelings out in the open, I think it’s important that we see what God’s Word has to say about the way we should treat others. During Jesus’ time of ministry, the religious leaders of the day would often look for opportunities to trap Jesus in what they would consider to be false teaching. Since the Pharisees and Sadducees were never able to trick Jesus on their own, they finally decided to join together and sent out one of the wiser guys in the group, a lawyer, to ask Jesus a question, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:36-39).
Jesus’ response is interesting because it’s got a bigger idea built into it. What Jesus didn’t say is this, “love your neighbor, when they treat you well or do nice things for you.” He didn’t say, “Repay your neighbor with kindness, because they were nice to you first.” He also didn’t just say love God with all of your heart, soul, and mind. What He did say though is that we need to love our neighbor as ourselves. There’s no preface to love them based on how they treat us. Actually, the preface is that we love God with all that we have and when we do, we recognize the incredible amount of love that He shows us on a daily basis. Then, that love should overflow into the way we love and treat our neighbors. I will say, I’m reading into the text a little bit with that idea. Scripture doesn’t say that verbatim, but I can tell you, it’s true. Here are some other passages you can look at and gauge for yourself if you think God’s overwhelming love for us should pour out to those around us.
Here are a few.
God’s love for us
1 John 4:19; Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:4-9; Romans 8:39; John 3:16
Our love for others
1 John 4:11; John 15:12; 1 John 4:7; 1 John 3:16; John 13:34
Practically Speaking
Let’s be frank though. All of this means nothing if we don’t act on the things we know we should do. When we hear the truth of God’s Word and the prompting of the Holy Spirit in our hearts to act and we do nothing, James tells us that we’re “like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.” (James 1:23) That illustration may seem silly because it’s so outrageous, but it’s true. Scripture is clear that we’re called to love one another. To have patience with each other. To care for each other. To support, encourage, lift up, spur on, and challenge each other. The question for you to figure out though is, what does that look like?
In Luke 10 Jesus provides even more insight on this topic when He asks who our neighbors are. He goes on to tell the story about the good Samaritan. I’m not going to tell you about this, so if you’re unfamiliar, head over to Luke 10:25-37 to check it out. The point in the story though is that our neighbors aren’t always the people who look, dress, think, or even like the things we like. They may be the ones who are far different than us. The ones who have a different taste, style, or feel to them. We may even think of our neighbors as the people living directly beside us, but in reality, our neighbors are the people God puts in our path. Regardless of whether it’s a person who lives next door, sits in the cubical next to you, shares your classroom, or sits on the corner near your building every day. They’re all your neighbors. So with this in mind, it’s time to start asking God to show you who to serve and love today. Better yet, He’s probably already telling you. Maybe it’s time to start listening and stop walking away from the mirror, only to forget what you looked like.
Questions
Here are some questions that may help you think of some ways to show love to the people God has placed in your life.
Have you hurt someone that you need to go and apologize to?
This is one of the most incredible ways we can show love to others. We never know the depths of the ways our words or actions hurt someone, but by going back to those people. Admitting to them the mistake we made or wrong we committed and taking ownership of it can go a long way. It’s not up to us to make them accept our apology, but it’s up to us to follow God’s lead.
Do you have a physical neighbor you know you could help?
Sometimes it’s the people right next door that we miss. If you have a neighbor you know is struggling with something, ask them if you can help. It could be as simple as getting a box down in their closet, pulling some weeds for them, or maybe bringing by a meal in the middle of a crisis.
Do you have a coworker that’s struggling?
Ask God to share someone with you that you work with who may be struggling. When He does, pray for Him to give you boldness to approach that person. Sometimes it can be intimidating to ask people we work with if they need help, but it’s in those moments that they see Christ’s love in us. They may need an ear to listen, a ride to work, or maybe even an invite to connect at church.
Who could you take five minutes to write an encouraging message to today?
I love this one! One of my favorite and least favorite things about my job is doing funerals. At funerals, people get up and talk about how great the person was who passed away. Why not tell the people now, while they are still around to hear it? This could make such an impact on someone’s life!
