I've been thinking. Thinking about why it's so much more difficult to love certain people. It's easy to love little babies. They're cute and we're still caught up in the miracle of life and all. Even when they cry, they're just doing what they know to do, so it's okay.
A 2-year old's temper tantrum? Doesn't even phase me. I still think they're pretty easy to love. They're just acting their age and they'll grow older and then act that age.
Homeless guy on the corner? He's even pretty easy to love, in an odd sort of way. Most of us feel a certain compassion for the down-and-out. And it's good to stretch ourselves way out of our comfort zone sometimes.
It's the people in the middle I'm having trouble with.
It's the teenager with an attitude. It's the snotty, punk kid who is mean to my offspring. It's the friend who just won't do things my way. It's the family member who has body odor. It's the people up the street who accused me of stealing their cat. It's the wedding db (see Ryan's blog entitled 'open letter to wedding db').
The people who, by looking at them, should just know better. People who look like normal people living normal lives. Why must they be so hard to love?
So, actually when Jesus said to love our neighbors, maybe he knew how hard that commandment was going to be. Well, duh, of course he knew, he's Jesus. Maybe everyone listening was like, "Of course, yeah, whatever." And maybe Jesus snickered because he knew. Do you think it's hard for him to love us when we won't do things his way or when we're the snotty, punk kid who is mean to one of his offspring?
Still, Jesus is Jesus, so of course he can love us, but it's definitely work to love the people 'in the middle'. It's just been an eye-opener that the hardest to love, for me, aren't who I assumed they would be. So, until my neighbor learns to do things 'my way', I need to find some way to love her.
This is gonna' be tough, daggone it.
4 comments:
i totally know what you mean. i think i would have an easier time living in norwood, or northside, or price hill. but to live in a middle-class neighborhood and have neighbors call the police on you feels wrong. it makes it completely hard to look at them let alone love them.
Oh no, I'm a normal middle class citizen! Why won't you just love me the way I am!
No, Dan, you're not normal.
ah so true, and I may be exaggerating by calling myself middle class too ha ha ha.
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