Lydia and I were walking down the main street on our way to her eye test. I saw a man ahead of us and thought, "He looks creepy, I'll avoid him." Lydia also noticed him. As we passed him, she gave him her friendliest wave and a loud Hello. Straight away I felt convicted as I noticed the contrast in mine and Lydia's reactions. I had thought, That person is scary, so I'll treat him likewise. Whereas Lydia had thought, There's a person, I'll say Hello!
Lydia has no sense of danger and it's not wrong to be careful. But I realized that I have the tendency to mentally categorize all people and treat them accordingly. There's a friend, I'll say Hello. That person looks strange, I won't talk to them. That person is unusual, I'll stay away from them. That person is old, that person is from a different culture, that person is different to me, that person has a big accent, that person isn't dressed very nicely and so on.
Instead I should be like Lydia and also like Jesus. I should think, There's a human being, I'll treat them kindly. There's a person that God created, I'll show love to them. There's a person with a soul, I'll be friendly. There's a person that God cares about, I'll care about them too.
Jesus didn't stay away from people who were different to Him. If He had, He'd have to stay away from everyone! He showed love to lepers, tax collectors, harlots, crazy men and all people considered 'bad.' He cared about EVERYONE.
When James was talking about treating everyone equally, he said, Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? James 2:4
But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin and are convinced of the law as transgressors. James 2:9
Love like Lydia!
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