Devotion

         Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. (Romans 12:10)

          The word devoted  means to be very loving or loyal, or to be given over to the display, study, or discussion of. To devote means to give all or a large part of one's time or resources to (a person, activity, or cause). To honor is to regard with great respect. And, once again, the “one another” is of the same kind.

          I know some folks who have a different problem here. They have cut themselves off from the “one another of the same kind.” The church is full of hypocrites and bigots. They don’t need the church. It’s just God and them, maybe with a little help from their friends. They sing “I’ll be there for you,” and “All you need is love,” until they break up. The problem is that they are restricting those to whom they are willing to be devoted and those they are willing to honor.

          People within churches and denominations do some of the same things, with a slightly larger group. “My church” or “my denomination” get my devotion, but that church over there, well… I’m trying to fix this in my prayer life. For some time, I’ve prayed for “my church” and for a few other churches. This winter, I’ve started praying for “the church” in the cities where I live. My prayer for the Church and its pastors, elders, deacons, etc. It’s not wrong to pray for specific congregations or pastors, but right now, I feel led to pray a little bigger.

          My response to “Be devoted” and “Honor one another” is “Argh!” First, of course, there is the lack of a concrete standard of judgment. How devoted is devoted, and when do you step over the line into something that is unhealthy? Is what I think of as honor and respect actually honor and respect? Somehow, I sort of doubt it. In addition, there is the problem that being devoted and respecting not only require focusing on someone outside the tiny universe in my mind, but feeling and expressing closeness, attention, and feelings.

          The third and fourth reasons I groan over these commands are my rebelliousness and distractions. I don’t want to make others the focus of my life. I want to be the focus of my life. Sometimes, I even want to be the focus of their lives (not often because that would interfere with my self-focus. In some measure, this is common to all of us fallen folks. I also lack the discipline to stick with my devotion to others or honor of others. There are books to write or read, things to sew or craft, photos to take, chores to do. When I take the dog for a walk, I carry a camera in case I see something to photograph. After breakfast is a prayer walk. After lunch, she gets to be on a long line and I throw her frisbee and do plastic canvas stitchery between tosses. Even after dark, the handwork continues thanks to a flashlight. Microwaving a cup of coffee is a chance to sew a seam or clean the kitchen. And no, I’ve never been tested for ADHD.

         The idea that I can and should attend to people with undivided devotion feels like I’m being handcuffed. That’s not to say that I can’t focus on something. It’s that when I’m not focused, I’m easily distracted. Distraction is the enemy of devotion. Fortunately, Brother Lawrence has an answer in Practicing the Presence of God. He says we shouldn’t make a federal case out of our distraction, but simply to return to God (and in this case, the others of the same kind) as soon as we can. The title holds the key – we need to practice being devoted and honoring. Sometimes we’ll get it. Sometimes, we’ll lose to distraction – and God will continue to work.