I've often wondered what the world would look like if all of its inhabitants took a moment to go out of their way to do something nice for someone other than themselves. Not on their birthday or a day when it is expected, but on a day that is in all definitions a normal day. It doesn't have to be anything huge, but just a hug, or buy them a cup of coffee, or sit down and talk with them. Pay someone a compliment. And put them above self for a moment. Perhaps it would be a thing that stuck, became a habit. Maybe it would spread, maybe people would smile more. Maybe they would dance at the red lights instead of blowing their horns in impatience. What if the compliments had some affect on patience and understanding, maybe there would be less murders and more babies born. They would make stabbing a friend in the back more difficult. And if we listened a little more and talked a little less we would have more friends. If for a moment of every day we told someone we loved them and why, we would help people feel better about themselves, give them something to hold on to, to reach for. If we spent our times building and mending the bridges that the harsh words and actions break down with kindness, then all would have a place of safety when the rains come. Because at the end of the day it's not about how good we were to ourselves, how much further we got ourselves in life. Those things are trivial, because they can be taken easier than they were achieved, but the thing that does matter, the thing that stick, is how much we care for others. Whether we go that extra step with a person in need. If we put that extra effort into being Christ to others, if we see them as Christ sees them, as someone in need of compassion, and see ourselves as Christ sees us, someone in need of everlasting grace, we acknowledge our commonality. We recognize, we are one. One hurting nation. One hurting world. One body desperately seeking for hope.
