2 Timothy 2:20-26
“Become the kind of
container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for
their blessing.” (2 Tim. 2:21; MSG)
I refuse not to believe in the basic good of all people.
What it comes down to is that we all have pasts. We’ve all
been hurt, mistreated, abused, used, abandoned, praised, loved, hated,
worshiped, forgotten, lied to… Everything everyone says or does is directly
influenced by what happened to her and how she has or has not dealt with it.
This in no way excuses poor behavior, it merely explains it.
But at the core, at the seed of our being, we are all good
people. God created each one of us, after all. Yet while God is so Amazing and Wonderful
and Good, the world we created with our free will is often harsh and cynical
and terrifying.
Society – at least in the corner of the world with which I
am familiar – is far more slanted toward the negative than the positive, and more
toward the individual than the group. Social implications teach us to tear
others down to make ourselves look or feel better rather than build each other
up. Tabloids and gossip shows exploit the famous, highlighting their faults and
failures. Reality shows are often edited to show people at their worst,
treating each other poorly and creating unnecessary drama. We find this
entertaining, I think, because seeing what’s wrong with others’ lives makes us
feel better about our own. Bad day at work? Boss was mean? Go home, kick back
to reality TV and feel better by watching the petty drama. Or turn on the news
and feel better about the blah of life because at least we aren’t in Syria, our
kids haven’t been kidnapped, or our house didn’t catch fire.
Imagine what would happen if all that was taken away.
Imagine if we focused on the good things and didn’t glorify negative news.
Imagine what the world would be like if we really did just love each other.
These days, as I continue growing in my spirit-filled life, I
work hard to stay positive, to encourage others, to give compliments, perform
random acts of kindness, go out of my way to be nice to others – even if they
aren’t nice to me. It does not take long to see the impact this has on the
people around me. And I’m just one person!
Robin Sharma, an inspirational author, once said, “Leave
each person better than you found them.” I was taught growing up to leave a
place better than I found it. (Babysitting? Clean up a little bit, even if they
didn’t ask.) I love, love, love the idea of applying that to people and I am
implementing it into my behavior. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a coworker,
family member, or clerk at the grocery store. Smile, be polite, engage. Doing
that we just might make someone’s day.
I remember an email chain going around once that was the
story of two boys, one of which was severely bullied. One day, the second boy
went out of his way to be kind to the first, walking home with him and talking
to him about the day. Years later, the bullied boy told the second boy that he
had planned on killing himself that night until the second boy was nice to him.
That one act of kindness gave him enough hope to carry on. We may never know
what chain reaction our kindness has, but that doesn’t take away from the fact
that it can have incredible power! A kind word, a smile, a nice gesture… Who knows what it could do for someone?!
So how does this relate to my refusing not to believe in the
basic good of all people? In my interactions with others, it is that Good Seed
God planted toward which I speak and act. If someone is rude toward me, I don’t
talk to the rudeness. I reach out to the Good Seed. If someone offers harsh
criticism, after he walks away I pray over his day and whatever may be going on
in his life (Matt 5:44).
Now, it is important to bear in mind that this is a
Christ-like attribute toward which to strive. It is an aspect of a
spirit-filled life, a God-gift. We must, must, must always remember that we are
human, we are not perfect, and we will not be able to keep this up 100% of the
time. There is stuff going on in our lives, too. Just yesterday I allowed tired
frustration to color my interaction with a pharmacy associate. She was only
kind to me, but I was tired after a long day of work, irritated that they didn’t
have what I wanted, beyond ready to go home, and therefore not as pleasant as I
could’ve been. Even Jesus couldn’t
keep it up 100% of the time (“Jesus was
irate and let them know it…” see Mark 10:14), and if HE couldn’t do it, WE
certainly can’t expect to. The key is to keep that in mind, to heighten our awareness
of our attitudes toward others, to recognize and acknowledge when we fall
short, and to pray about it, asking for forgiveness and the strength to do
better the next time.
My prayer tonight is that I continue to work toward
kindness, to seek out the Good Seed in everyone I meet, and that I can create
sparks and light matches that help spread the Holy Fire of God’s Grace and Love.
Amen! :D
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