Love is the most important emotion and decision for any and all of us. I say decision because in many cases we do have to decide to love; it isn’t always something we feel. God commands us to love others as we love ourselves. So we can’t do just one, we need to do both, love ourselves and others. Most of all, we should love God.
Here is a lesson from the Bible…
Matthew 22:36-40 New International Version
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]
So loving is great, but also teaching others about love, and to love, is important. I definitely feel an obligation to teach it, but most of all, to demonstrate it.
I have the gift of encouragement also. God gave me the ability to teach and encourage others. I enjoy helping people get their life on track by offering encouragement.
I love to inspire people, and I need to be inspired regularly also. That is why I practice prayer and meditation each and every morning as a way to start my day. That comes before the morning coffee even.
Forgive often, and receive forgiveness. God is a forgiver and he wants us to forgive others. After all, we all hurt others from time to time, as we also are hurt by the words or actions of others. We must forgive; I can’t possibly stress that too strongly. Forgive. Forgive. Forgive.
It is my duty and privilege to inform others about God’s love and mercy. I take that obligation very seriously. Many people are tortured with guilt and shame. God wants to take that away, but we need to be willing to let him.
Blessings are abundant but sometimes we have to pay attention. Otherwise we may confuse a blessing with a curse. Often perspective and attitude determine one from the other. For example, if my car breaks down and has to be put in the shop I could moan and groan about it while feeling sorry for myself, or I can choose to be grateful for being blessed with a car. Many people do not have one. I love teaching people about blessings.
Pray for others. God said that a bunch in the Holy Bible. I am always prepared to accept prayers and I daily pray for others. What about you?
Compassion is another thing I feel obliged to teach about, but primarily I need to live it. I choose to be compassionate because I know what it is like to need help.
Charity goes along with compassion. Often I need to give others money or my time. God directs me to help others often, but sometimes I have to be willing to just pray for them and leave them alone so God can teach them.
Do no harm. If we can’t help others, at least let’s not harm them. Doctors take an oath to live by this, and I encourage others to. I don’t want to harm others, but being human I sometimes do, and then it’s important to make amends if I can.
I must always try to understand what others are feeling, thinking, and experiencing in their life. It isn’t easy sometimes, but necessary. Please try to put yourself in the shoes of the other person. They may be having a bad day, week, month, year, or life.
I must always remember to value myself and my calling. God ordained and anointed me to be a blessing to others, so I want to live up to this great calling and challenge. With God’s help I persevere, even though I often mess up.
Last but not least, I encourage others to never lose faith or hope. I also constantly remind myself to keep the faith and never lose hope.
Steve Holder 