Wednesday 23 April 2014

Love Your neighbor-Treat others well at all cost!

Scripture references: Mark 12:30-31
                                     : Matthew 7:12
When I was younger my mother taught me a simple statement: W.W.J.D (What Would Jesus Do). Every time something happened, when am about to react she would call out the phrase: “Florence! WWJD!” Trust me even if I was about to do the meanest thing to either my brother or sister I would drop it immediately. The phrase if implemented by most of us would make the world more like Jesus like.
Today’s topic is treating people nicely. Well the WWJD sort of relates to this one. So on this particular day I started telling my mum about a friend of mine. About a month or so from this particular day I asked for a favour. I begged and begged this friend to help me out on this one (particularly it was helping out my other girlfriend, I was just her spokesperson). But this my friend said no (and I don’t take no’s very nicely). So I gave up, moved on and requested the favour from another person. I had almost forgotten about the incident when this friend of mine appeared, asking for a favour form me. Haha! I was like payback time baby! Payback time.
So on this particular day I needed my mum to scream “Florence! WWJD!” I was telling her: “Mum imagine so and so asked me to do A,B,C for them . And you remember how my small favour asked was met with a capital NO. Oh am so going to say no. exactly the way s/he said it to me..” you should have seen the enthusiasm and excitement I had when I said this statement. My idea was I got to teach this guy a lesson neh? That if you go around asking people for favours you should be able to do some favours for them.
My mom took sometime reminding me of W.W.J.D,of being nice to people at all cost because I may never know when our paths may cross again. I may never know when I may need a huge favour from them too. Above all she said: “If Jesus was the one asking the favour …”
Yhoo!! I thought of how I would stop everything else just to do this favour for Jesus. At the same time I thought I love Jesus. I truly do..but my love for this particular friend of mine was questionable. I sort of had grievances over the favour issue I was denied. I can’t say I hated them but I just had some resentment and I wasn’t ready to do the favour this time around. My mums lecture had helped a bit. So I began to think maybe I should do it, despite me being the only one who gives the favours when my favours are denied.
Coincidentally, the bible study that day was on Mark 12:28-34. Where Jesus talks about the fundamental cornerstone. LOVE. He talks about our love for God and then for our neighbors. Our neighbors are the people we live with, our friends, our families. Jesus Calls us to love them.
There are no conditions for loving people. Whether they do favours for us or not.  Even if they love us back or not. He just says “love your neighbor”. During our discussion we learnt that to love means to forgive peoples mistakes, not to hold their mistakes against them forever. So here I was trying to fight resentment towards this person. In doing this I did not love them and trying to get back at them was in no way love.
So yes the Bible says do unto others   you would want them do unto you (Matthew 7:12).Love others if you want love. Treat others well as you would want others to treat you. Do small favours for friends if you want them to do small favours for you (hahaha! Not personal though).
But from my small classes through the day, I have learnt: Treat others well at all cost. All in summary as the lord put it: Love your neighbor! If you do love your neighbor, you will be nice to them at all cost.

I pray that you will find strength to love your neighbor, when they love you back and when they don’t. I pray that your love for your neighbors will be without conditions. That you will not hold their mistakes against them forever. That simply you will do the commandment as it says: Love your neighbor.

Prayer: Dear Lord! Teach us to love without conditions. Help us to treat our neighbors well. In Jesus name…

4 comments:

  1. Amen. I struggle with the same thing too. Frankly speaking it is irritating to get a request for a favour from someone who constantly denies you favours.

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  2. Chris! I totally agree..and talking about love,loving other people even doing small favours for them when they dont do any favours for you is easily said than done.. its tough really.. the Lord should help us to love at all times!

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  3. And your middle name just happens to be Love itself haha....well, i just want to add that, Jesus said, Love everyone. Actually he said do good to everyone, His actual words. Because, even the pagans do good to those who do good to them, how different will we be if we only do God to those who only do good to us? Matthew 5 vs 44-47.

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  4. Aha..thats where we stand out.. where we love even those who do not do good to us... we aints pagans we christians and our command is to LOVE. ;) thanxs for that Bea..

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