Love, Respect and Dignity

One observation I have made through the years is that people often treat others according to their status.

In business, people tend to treat their bosses with more respect than they do their employees.

People in high positions of government expect to be addressed in certain ways.

In the world, it often boils down to what the other person can do for you.

I honestly believe that this is one area in life where Christians have a real advantage.

Jesus told us to love our neighbor.

Mark 12:30-31 (NET) - Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

That means we are to love everyone.

It does not matter what their worldly status happens to be.

It does not matter whether they can do things for us or not.

It does not even matter that they may not love us in return.

Other verses echo this as well.

Galatians 5:14 (NET) – For the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment, namely, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”

What does loving our neighbor mean?

For one thing, it means treating everyone with respect and dignity.

The same respect and dignity we like to enjoy ourselves,

This is what I meant when I said the Christian has an advantage.

By treating everyone equally, we do not have to choose how we will treat an individual.

One of my favorite authors and theologians is John Amos Comenius (1592-1670).

He once put it this way: “Whenever you encounter one of your neighbors, regard him as yourself in another form (which he is), or indeed as God in another form, for he is the image of God, and God will be watching to see how reverently you treat him.”

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, July 27, 2018.

I’ll be back here on Friday, August 3, 2018

Working by Touch

One task I do not like is performing maintenance on one of our large machines.

This must be done two or three times per year depending upon usage.

I try to do this at the end of the day when everyone else has gone home.

I must first take apart the machine and lift out some of the heavier components.

I then lie down on the floor and insert my arm inside the machine and remove a dozen small parts.

I need to rely on my sense of touch for this operation as I can no longer see inside the machine.

Once these small parts have been removed, I need to replace them with new ones.

This also requires me to rely on my sense of touch to get the job done.

Once the new parts are installed I can get up from the floor.

I then reassemble the machine and power it up.

All that is left at this point is to test the machine and verify that it is functioning properly.

Having recently performed this task, reflection brought two passages of scripture to mind.

Philippians 4:13 (NET) – I am able to do all things through the one who strengthens me.

I can perform this task only because of the abilities given to me by God.

Just as I stretch my arm into the machine, similarly, God reaches into us.

It is His touch into our hearts that allows us to be saved.

Ephesians 2:8-10 (NET) - For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.

I may not look forward to working on this machine again.

I certainly will not be able to look at it the same way again.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, July 13, 2018.

I’ll be back here on Friday, July 20, 2018