Trick or Treat part 2
How you treat people is important. Those bonds, those connections, those relationships are what life is all about. The most miserable people--in my opinion--are those who constantly push people away. And I understand about trauma. I understand that our past relationships go a long way in defining our current and future relationships. Everybody is going through stuff. And everybody has been through stuff. But that's why it's so important that we treat people kindly. That's why it's so important that we're gentle with people. If someone is, as the old saying goes, "on their last nerve," or if they're right on the edge of the cliff... it might not take much to push them over. And if your goal is to push someone over the edge... you need a new goal. Seriously. People don't go around destroying people. That's not how life works. Look at 1 Peter 2:17 in the Message Bible. "Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government." And, by the way, I'm not touching that last one. Not here and now. I really just want to focus on the first one. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Treat people... like people. I bring up a line from one of my favorite movies a lot, "Deserve's got nothing to do with it." And I like to apply it to love. Because we don't have to do anything to earn love. Or deserve love. But there's another way to say that. Or think about it. Because the truth of the matter is that we all deserve love. Just by being human. Not because of what we do, but because of who we are. The God who IS love created us in order to express Himself (His love) to us. And in us. And through us. And as us. It's all about love. Receiving and releasing the love of God. That, friends, is how we should treat each other. That's what it means to treat each other with dignity. And there's quite a lot to be said about treating someone else the way you want to be treated... even when you're not feeling it. Ministering out of your own hurt can be so powerful. Because it's real. When you've been there, done that, and got the t-shirt... that's when you can really share yourself. Give yourself. That's how those bonds, connections, and relationships are built. By giving yourself to someone else. By putting others first. By treating people softly. Gently. With dignity. When I think of dignity, I get this picture in my head of an invilid. Someone drooling all over themselves without being able to help it. And then someone else coming in and gently wiping their face. Because it doesn't matter who you are, what you've done, what you're about... you deserve better than to sit there with drool all over you. So even when someone else makes their own mess... even when someone stumbles and falls all on their own... you don't have to kick them when they're down. You should never look down on anybody... unless you're reaching down to help them up. You can help people clean up a mess, whether you had anything to do with making it or not. You can be kind. You can help people. We're all in this together. And things work out better when we work together. It can be hard to put others first... but it's always worth it.