Doing My Best to Love Others as I Love Me

Doing My Best to Love Others as I Love Me
I must love myself a lot because I sure do my best to take care of me – walking daily to keep my heart strong, doing mind and brain exercises to stay sound, spending time with God so I stay spiritually fit, eating healthy foods (most of the time) and taking nutritional supplements to subsidize what I don’t. But, the question is do I love others as much as ME? Thanks, Lord, for that one – I think! That “Thou Shalt”…..love your neighbor as you love yourself -- one!

Yesterday, my blog was about "taking the High Road" of living out the love of Jesus to those around us. That “high road” way is a radical love-walk-and-talk life where kindness, love, joy and peace rules. That means we are lovingly different -- extending His love freely and unconditionally to others.

After I posted my blog about "taking the high road", I read my devotional for yesterday. It also spoke about "taking the "high road" by never returning evil for evil – no matter what someone says or does to us. For example, when a relative makes a hurtful comment, rather than retaliate with a nasty comment or text back -- "take the high road"! It's not easy taking the high road, but with Jesus’ help, we can conquer evil with love.

I’m apologizing for the times I’ve allowed myself to look at others and think “How could they? Why would they? I would NEVER make that choice!” Father, please forgive me, because “but, for the grace of God – there go I”. Luke 6:37 says “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven…” I have no right to judge because I don’t know how it feels to be rejected, hated, or considered untrustworthy because of the color of my skin. I don't know how it feels to be hated for merely existing.

I have no right to judge because I don’t know the struggle of not identifying with my gender. I was born with the chromosomes of a woman and I can’t imagine wanting to be anything but a woman. I have no right to judge because I don’t know the frustration and helplessness driven by an addiction. I’ve never been burdened with an all-consuming desire to consume a substance over and over again while knowing that doing so could kill me and destroy my family.

I DO KNOW, i’s time for us to connect with our brothers and sisters in this human race, to remember our need for each other, to act upon loving our neighbors in the spirit that Jesus asks us to love in Mark 12:30-32. It should stir us into action every time we’re tempted to turn away from trying to understand and comfort another. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

It’s difficult to wrap our minds around the chaos and the actions of our fellow man, but it’s not about the why, who, what, when and where. It’s about God's love running through our veins, our hearts and our minds because LOVE conquers all.

Are we Known by our Appealing or Appalling Fruit?

How easy it is to judge the likes of folks whose poor attitude, angry spirit and crankiness seems to bring a dark cloud with them when they step into the room. We randomly judge someone when they’ve made a bad decision that you warned them not to make or maybe we judge an outfit someone wore, a new hairstyle, the lack of someone’s personal pride, the way they handle their business affairs, and the good or bad language they speak. Whew! Oftentimes, it’s a workout to keep from being judgmental especially when we see the “fruit” of the actions of some of those folks.

But Jesus set the record straight about judging. He said in Matthew 7:1 “Judge not so you won’t be judged.” Yikes! I sure don’t want to be judged. On the other hand, maybe we should be Fruit Inspectors -- especially when we see fruit that causes us to check out our own fruit as to whether what others see in us is sweet and tasty fruit. Matthew 7:20 – “Therefore, by their fruits, you will know them.”

Having love for some unlovable folks, finding peace in the midst of chaos, experiencing joy when folks may be getting on our last nerve -- can be quite a feat any time, but most certainly, since the election of 2016, we’ve been given all kinds of opportunities to decide. Is it love or hate, peace or anger, bitterness or happiness, crankiness or joyfulness? Remembering the scripture… "What the heart is full of....the mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45) Doesn’t that give us pause for giving ourselves a good old fruit inspection?

When we opened the door of our hearts to God....He walked through the door with a treasure chest full of everything we would need to overcome and be successful in every area of our life. And, it is He Who inspects our fruit and says to us: I'm not asking you to be their Fruit Inspector. I'm asking you to inspect your own fruit." That's when I know God is telling me to amp up that fruit in my own life -- to be sure that what my heart is full of, bears the Fruit of the Spirit qualities: Galatians 5:22,23 "But the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control."

Let's be sure to pass the test on the fruits we are bearing. After all, as believers, we know Holy Spirit is in us so we already have the good soil, fertilizer, nutrients and everything else we need to be choice, bright, luscious, sweet, refreshing, top quality FRUIT bearers to a world that could sure use some.

And Let the JUDGING Begin

As in every year since I was a little girl, I'll be watching the Miss America Pageant tonight when it is broadcast live on ABC. I still love getting caught up in the pomp of it all -- seeing those young women vying for scholarships, and finding out who will take home the crown of Miss America 2019. I was always starstruck by those beautiful, smart and talented young women. I'd watch and "judge" from my sofa, choose my favorite, and hope she'd be the winner. With great anticipation, I'd hear the names of the runners-up and hope I had "judged" accurately. What an adrenaline rush it was when I was right and heard Bert Parks sing "There she is...Miss America. There she is....your ideal."

In 1995, my husband and I were cheering so loudly for that adorable redhead from Oklahoma who was radiant, poised, articulate, and confident. We never imagined that just a few years later THAT GIRL, Shawntel Smith, would become "the love of our boy's life"! She won our hearts in the 1996 pageant, and soon the love of our hearts forever!

I understand that those young women are scrutinized to the nth degree by the judges who carry such huge responsibilities. They will determine the results which means dreams coming true for many who will receive sizeable scholarships, and of course, the one crowned Miss America.

"Judging" has become a way of life in our world. I thoroughly enjoy watching "reality shows" that offer talent and sports competitions where judges play a huge role in whether or not the competitors win or lose by just the smallest margin. Speaking of judging and being judged, many of us feel judged daily. People can, and will have opinions, but we should never doubt ourselves. We should have absolute faith in who we are and never should we let someone else's "opinion" become our reality. And neither should we judge others. We don't know their reality either. That cranky cashier's world could be falling apart. "Do not judge, or you too will be judged." Matthew 7:1

It also may feel like God is judging us, too: He rewards us when we're good and have boatloads of faith, He punishes and disciplines us when we make mistakes. Not at all. God doesn't judge or scrutinize us. He always responds to us in love. What counts to Him is that we come to Him. It's true He rewards those of us who believe and who diligently seek Him. He still loves us even when our faith is weak and we doubt and worry or are afraid. All He asks is for us is to come to Him. He will give Himself to us. No, He doesn't judge us with a scoring system. He is loving and teaching us to be the best we can be -- and He's handing us much more than a crown. In Isaiah 62:3, we read that we ARE a crown...."You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God."

When you're feeling a little disheveled, inadequate and weary from all that is expected of you, just remember WHOSE child you are, and straighten that crown! After all, you are a child of the King!

No Right to Judge

Still in the wake of the Orlando tragedy, I find myself grasping for explanation of this world we are living in today and how we could all be so different.

Typically, I fight the urge to push away the negatives that are resounding over media because I don’t fully understand it all, and because I tend to withdraw from the place of doom, despair and agony. I sincerely protect my peace of mind because I want to live in a “happy place”. I admit it’s far too easy to close my eyes, shake my head and whisper "I’ll think about this later or I haven’t experienced that, so I won't think about it at all."

For the last few days, however, I’m apologizing for the times I’ve allowed myself to look at the plight of others and think “How could they? Why would they? I would NEVER make that choice!” Heavenly Father, please forgive me, because “but, for the grace of God – there go I”. Luke 6:37 says “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven…”

I have no right to judge because I don’t know how it feels to be rejected, hated, or considered untrustworthy because of the color of my skin. I don't know how it feels to be hated for merely existing.

I have no right to judge because I don’t know the struggle of not identifying with my gender. I was born with the chromosomes of a woman and I can’t imagine wanting to be anything but a woman.

I have no right to judge because I don’t know the frustration and helplessness driven by an addiction. I’ve never been burdened with an all-consuming desire to consume a substance over and over again while knowing that doing so could kill me and destroy my family.

I DO KNOW, that without judging and criticizing and with the loving heart of Christ, it’s time for us to connect with our brothers and sisters in this human race, to remember our need for each other, rather than distance ourselves from each other, to remember and act upon loving our neighbors in the spirit that Jesus asks us to love. The commandment of Jesus to love in Mark 12:30-32 should stir us into action every time we’re tempted to turn away from trying to understand and comfort another.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

Yes, it’s often difficult to wrap our minds around the chaos, the actions and reactions of our fellow man, but it’s not about the why, who, what, when and where……it’s about our boldly proceeding in our thoughts and actions with HIS love running through our veins, our hearts and our minds......because LOVE CONQUERS ALL!