Loving On Others

I did a little research. In the course of a day, we interact with over 667 people. (Interactions meaning talking with, walking by, driving by, looking at, etc.) Keep in mind this is an AVERAGE, as there are many days I probably see 2 people and other days where I see 20,000 at a stadium or something. But anyways. That's the average for an American.

I feel as if God wants us to do three things:

1.) Love Him

2.) Love Ourselves

3.) Love Others

1.) LOVE GOD> Yes. This is good. This IS GREAT. This is what I strive to do with all of my actions and every thing I do. Is it hard? YES! This is partially why we go to church, sing worship songs, listen to PRAISE 106.5, attend our weekly bible studies, pray, study our devotionals, etc. All of which is so, so, so important.

2.) LOVE OURSELVES> Personally, I feel like this where the majority of my time and efforts go out of the three. Selfish? Yes. Unhealthy? At times. Going to the gym, eating organic, reading self-help books, enjoying our hobbies, reading our books, watching our favorite television shows. None of this is bad, and is something very, very important to focus on.

3.) LOVE OTHERS> I kinda forget about this one. I find myself spending so much time with myself and my relationship with God, that I often completely leave out this VERY important relationship. God doesn't just love us to show us how our relationship with him should be, but also as a reminder of how we should love EACH. OTHER.

Last week the CUTEST little lemonade stand was set up at the end of my street. I drove by to the smiling girls and just kept onnn cruising. Would it have killed me to take 5.6 second and pull my car over and throw a quarter into their money jar? NO!

When I really like the zebra print rain boots that the lady in front of me has at the grocery store checkout, maybe I could stop reading the National Inquirer long enough to ask her where she got them?

Today I was just thinking about ALL the people we pass everyday in our daily lives. The janitor at work cleaning up the spill, the flagger who looks MISERABLE at the closed road due to construction. and it's not like I have to freaking buy them lunch or give them an award, but even just a SMILE is nice. Or even sometimes, I get DISGUSTED at how I realize I am talking to my family/bf. If a friend of acquaintance called my name, I sure wouldn't answer with a "WHAT DO YOU WANT?" in the same tone of voice that I sometimes find myself answering my dearest mother with. Why should she be treated any different than a friend in terms of politeness?

So those 667 people I might run into sometime this weekend? Instead of being so caught up in my own little worries, I am gonna try and see how it feels to spread the love around. Rumor has it love grows when you do that :)

1 John 4:11: Beloved, since God so loves us, we also ought to love one another.