Preference

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.

Romans 12:9-18 NAS95

When did you last consider the wonder of your sight? To be able to pick up this book, or sit at a computer and read the words of this book/blog, and the surrounding pages of information and advertisements is truly an amazing thing. We don't generally walk around thinking about the things that occur on a regular daily basis, like being able to see, or breathe and smell, or think, or taste, or touch, or hear.

Sometime ago a member of the church I was pastoring was having vision problems and had eye surgery to correct the problem, after a second surgery to remove a cataract they now have a new pair of glasses and can see fine. But there were a few days where they were worried about the future of their eyesight. Just like you and I, they took their eye sight for granted and only when they were in danger of losing sight did they act.

So much like this story is another event that I watched play out about the same time. A family member was losing a mother-in-law and grandmother to their four children. The loss would be significant as it is whenever a loved one passes away; but there is something about that situation that reminded me of how we generally live life. Just like you who are reading this musing and have made it this far, we quickly forget about some things. (Are you still thinking about my opening question?)

Here's the deal, this mother-in-law has spent her life doing things that have hurt people and made enemies. Why, I don't know; but there was never any thought about the end results. Never any considerations to who was being hurt because the consequences were too far into the distant future too care. Suddenly the battle for life was nearly over, and as there was great remorse for the people that had been hurt.

Just like we don't think about hearing, seeing, breathing, tasting, touching, or smelling we often don't consider how our actions will impact others. But every day we are with people, people who matter much to us, and people that should matter to us, because they matter to God. He who formed us and gave His only Son for us, cares. A lot. And yet we often act in disrespectful and hateful ways.

Communication tools such as radio, YouTube, Facebook (et al), and television are filled with examples of people disrespecting other people, and we laugh at them. Yet those examples are shaping our society and culture. I was shocked to read that in Chicago 797 people were murdered in 2021 and they are on track to beat that number in 2022. Chicago is but one city in our country that is facing rising violent crime rates. In part, perhaps, because we pay so much attention to the culture that devalues other people; and we do so without thinking. It takes real effort to think kind thoughts and to do kind deeds. The Bible puts it this way in Romans 12:10:

"Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor." Romans 12:10 NAS95

It takes real effort to treat others with a loving attitude, and to give them preferential treatment with honor. It means living life wide awake, paying attention not only to what is going on in your own life but also in the lives of those around you. Are you seeing, or just looking? There is a difference. Here is my challenge to you, look at yourself, carefully. Can you make changes now that will leave you with fewer regrets later? It will be easy if you "give preference to one another in honor."