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Bearing With One Another...

            Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. (Ephesians 4:2)

 

            Someone follows you into the checkout line and strikes up a conversation about how bad a condition the store is in, how long the lines are, or how someone at home is waiting or is being a pain in the neck. Another cashier comes along and the person behind you pushes over to be waited on ahead of you. Do you pray for the customer when you get in your car a few minutes later? Is there a part of you that evaluates your behavior and informs you that you’ve been good?

            Now, we’re told we should be good. It’s good to be good. Yay for goodness! We’ve only recently left a time of year when we sing about being “good for goodness sake.” (Or is it “good, for goodness’ sake”?) But reread today’s passage.

            There’s no mention of being good or even of being obedient to God. The only motivation suggested is love for the other person. In a sense, we are still doing them good. It’s just that the goal isn’t about either us or the goodness of the action. It’s about the wellbeing or blessedness of the other person.

            This idea is the opposite of the way most of us operate. We know salvation isn’t by works. We want to do good and may even want the other person involved to be blessed by it. That’s what makes the good thing good. But a part of us keeps an eye on the mirror, so to speak. And that leads me back to my favorite prayer request: wisdom, direction, and attitude.    

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