Respect part 2
"I'm a human being!" When someone says that to you with pain in their eyes, it's hard to imagine how easy it is to forget that sometimes. We get up with "stuff" and we lose sight of what's really important. I'll say it again: God... and people... love God and love people. Love God BY loving people. When we throw someone over for something, or when we make someone feel like they aren't worthy of respect, that's when we REALLY need to take a look at our priorities. Because when we treat people like stuff--or, worse, less than stuff--or when we forget that each and every one of us is an actual human being... well, it's easy to break stuff. But it's harder--much harder--to build stuff. That's why Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Train up a child in the way he SHOULD go. Don't always be so hard on people. Chances are we already know what's WRONG with us--or what the world TELLS us is wrong with us. So maybe we should start telling people what's RIGHT with them. Build them up. Romans 14:19 says it like this, "Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another." And in the NLT it goes, "So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up." Blessed are the peacemakers, right? For they shall be the Son(s) of God? And if we strive for peace and harmony, we won't let our differences separate us. We'll be able to celebrate those differences. Variety is the spice of life. If everybody thought the same and acted the same it'd be super boring. There's a song on a cartoon my son and I used to watch. "In some ways we are different... but in so many ways, we are the same!" Differences don't have to seperate us. If we respect each other enough to let us HAVE those differences. I have never once in my life (that I'm aware of) tried to convince someone to believe the same way I believe. In fact, for the most part, I just keep it to myself. (Except for my books, and blogs, and sermons and stuff. But I don't try to force that stuff on anybody either. I simply present it. Take it or leave it.) I've never had any desire to get into a theological arguement with anybody. When people tell me I'm wrong--and believe it, that happens--I just shrug my shoulders and say, "Ok." You believing something I don't believe doesn't bother me. I'm ok with the differences people have. I like what I like. I know what I know. If you feel the same way... great. I'm not going to disrespect you because we're different. I'm going to RESPECT you because in so many ways we are the same. We're all just people. Doing the best we can to jss. To just survive somehow. And as someone who knows and believes the love of Christ... I'm going to do my best to edify you. To build you up instead of breaking you down. It's easier to build when damage hasn't been done yet, but that's not usually the case. Usually it takes some work. But that's ok. Because there are two important things in this universe: You're one of them, and the other One lives inside you!