All we have to do is turn on the news to see the status of America’s neighborhoods. I just pulled up my news app and the top story is about the shooting in Illinois and the second is about a mother who drowned her three kids and then killed herself. I can see why fewer and fewer people enjoy reading the paper or watching the news.
The two primary commandments that God gives us is to love God with our whole mind, heart, and being and love our neighbor as ourself. Most people love themselves and ensure that their needs and wants are taken care of. While we are good about taking care of ourselves, we seem to turn our heads when we see others who need help. We may have the “it sucks to be them” attitude or we may just say that it’s not our concern. We may not have the resources to help someone or we might not know how to help them, so we do nothing. Even a kind word or a prayer for the person in need can go a long way.
When we interact with other people, try to remember that they are a child of God and that Jesus loves them. We have a tendency to sometimes treat other people like objects or use them to get what we want instead of putting other people first. Jesus said, whoever wants to be greatest in the Kingdom will be the servant to all.
Life isn’t always great and sometimes when people feel hurt or wronged, they want to make other people hurt as well. They may have the attitude that if I’m not happy, nobody’s going to be happy. They just got fired or picked on, so they shoot up their work or school. Even if we don’t kill someone, we can kill their good mood, destroy their confidence, or make someone feel un-important. Revenge may seem satisfying, but it never is. Putting someone else down to lift ourselves up is also not the way to succeed in the long run. Jesus was stripped, beaten, and humiliated and as He was dying, He asked God to forgive His attackers.
Let’s try to focus less on making ourselves happier and more on helping other people become happier. It really is so much better to give than to receive. We don’t need laws to curtail the violence in the world. We just need to work on treating others with love. If we can do this, we will see a positive change in our neighborhoods and we will enjoy reading and hearing the good news that is spread throughout in the world.
