October 3, 2006

[Rev. Doc]

One Relationship At A Time

"If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, 'Love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers."
James 2:8-9

Steve Goodier writes:

The day after we moved to a small town in Colorado my wife Bev did grocery shopping. We moved few food items with us so she filled four grocery carts full. She asked if she could pay with an out of state check. "We just moved here," she explained, "and don't have local checks yet."

They said, "Yes, no problem." But when she began looking for her checkbook, she discovered that she had left it at home.

All of the groceries had been checked and sacked. "I'm so sorry," she said, "I thought I had it with me. If I could just leave the groceries here for a few minutes, I'll run home and get the checkbook."

"Don't worry about it," the cashier told her. "Take the groceries home. The next time you're in the store you can pay for them."

We had just moved from a large city and she couldn't believe what she was hearing! This clerk had never seen her before. But she treated her as if she were a VIP. She was somebody!

Don't you love it when you are treated like you are somebody? Because the truth is, we are all somebody. We are all important. And maybe most businesses cannot (and should not) let everybody pay with credit, but even strangers can be treated with honor and respect.

"Namaste" is a polite Indian gesture of greeting or farewell. From Hindi, the word literally means "bowing to you." Namaste has also been used to mean "I honor the sacred that is within you." What a remarkable thing it would be to actually honor the sacred that is within each person we meet! Even strangers. Nobody would go unnoticed and everybody would count.

Here is an exercise that may dramatically change your life: for one month treat everybody you meet as if he or she is the most important person in the world. The clerk in the grocery store, your spouse and children, a teenager from the church, strangers -- honor that which is sacred in all of them.

Give your undivided attention. By your words and actions, communicate to them all how important they are to you. Show them great respect and kindness. You may be amazed at what happens to your relationships!

You may not single-handedly solve the problem of world peace -- but in one small way at least, you will make a great difference.

Prayer: Ask God to help you show His love in all relationships.

"The greatest feats of love are performed by those who have had much practise in performing daily acts of kindness."
~Anonymous