i've been meaning to write this blog for a few weeks now, but i'm just now getting a chance to do so. thank you, president's day!
i've really been bothered over the last year or so at how easily frustrated i get with others. if someone drives poorly or drops a door on me or if a friend does something "i" disapprove of, i get annoyed and subsequently mock/slander them under my breath/in my mind.
as i have noticed this tendency in myself, i have also noted how pervasive this is in our culture (and our Christianity) and the way we generally treat people.
people are no longer people. they are obstacles. they are inconveniences. it doesn't matter WHO they are, it matters how they are affecting ME.
it reminds me of C.S. Lewis in The Weight of Glory:
"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you may talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship…It is in light of these overwhelming possibilities that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never met a mere mortal...it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit--immortal horrors or everlasting splendours."
how often do we look at people this way? as amazing immortal beings created in the image of God and loved deeply by Him? as people Jesus gave His life for?
why is it that we boil people down to their mistakes and shortcomings?
perhaps someone has a horrible day and has a lot on their mind...so they are consequently slow to push the gas pedal right when the light turns green. do we give grace for something we may not understand, or do we impatiently lay on the horn?
perhaps someone is socially awkward and freaks us out a bit. do we have compassion on them, understanding that they may be a victim of genetics or a hurtful childhood, or do we withdraw from them because they make us uncomfortable or we're afraid to be seen as their "friend?"
perhaps someone bumps into you and almost knocks you over. do we give them the benefit of the doubt, or do we roll our eyes at them and mutter "jerk" under our breath?
if we saw people for who they REALLY are and exactly WHO they were created to be, would we treat them the same way? would we live as if we were somehow entitled or to be regarded as more important than everyone else?
are we really that self-centered and self-absorbed? who is the center of our universe?
i'm tired of being this way. let's stop minimizing people and start magnifying them and the Lord by the way we treat them. let's be quicker to give grace and extend compassion than we are to be annoyed or mutter an unkind word. let's give others the benefit of the doubt and try putting ourselves in their shoes. there's often a reason why people do what they do...and if there's not...well then, it's a mistake. we all make them.
we all have our own hurts and hardships. do we think we're alone in this? sure, there are some truly unkind people in the world with foul intentions, but even they are that way for a reason. there was something in their life at some point that turned their heart cold...they too have a battle to fight. as Eldredge said once in a book of his, "We are ALL in a battle for our hearts."
WE are the ones who create defensiveness in others. our words and attitudes have the power to make or break the state of someone's heart. we are more powerful than we realize.
love God. love your neighbor. the two greatest commandments.
you are no mere mortal...and neither is your neighbor.
