Devotion

         Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. (Romans12:10)

I write these a day before you read them, and it’s an appropriate day to think about being devoted, because I’m being recognized as a member of my church this morning. Now, I’ve been attending there since 2001, so it’s not as if I haven’t been devoted, but I’m making it official.

Being devoted isn’t necessarily the problem. The direct object involved is the problem. I can be pretty good at being devoted to things: genealogy, gardening, my job, writing stories, crafting, and Toastmasters. Sometimes, I suspect the proper word isn’t devoted, it’s addicted. Yesterday included the idea of hating what not who. Today, the point is to be devoted to who (OK, whom,  but specifically to one another) not to what.

It's easier and safer to be devoted to what than to who(m) because things don’t tend to notice if we fail. Things don’t hold grudges or tell others what we’ve done or not done. But we’re not called to be devoted to a what. We’re called to be devoted to Christ and to one another. Worse, we’re called to honor one another. Honor? There are lots of times when I can barely tolerate people. Honor?

The etymology is too long to include here, but the idea it suggests to me is that we should treat others as we want to be treated. Perhaps honoring others above ourselves can be accomplished by treating people not as we’re treated, but as we want to be treated. I suspect that’s a harder task than we might think.