where to begin?
Let love be genuine
Abhor what is evil
Hold fast to what is good
Love one another with brotherly affection
Outdo one another in showing honor
Do not be slothful in zeal
Be fervent in spirit
Serve the Lord
Rejoice in hope
Be patient in tribulation
Be constant in prayer
Contribute to the needs of the saints
Seek to show hospitality
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them
Rejoice with those who rejoice
Weep with those who weep
Live in harmony with one another
Do not be haughty but associate with the lowly
Never be wise in your own sight
Repay no one evil for evil
But give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written "'Vengeance is mine, I will repay,' says the Lord."
If your enemy is hungry, feed him
If your enemy is thirsty, give him something to drink
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God...
Pay to all what is owed to them, taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law…
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Romans 12:9-13:10
If you've made it this far, you know all the answers!
The other day, I called my old insurance company to get some information. The man who answered the phone was exceedingly rude. I don't mean to say he was impatient, I mean he was overtly rude. He didn't want to give me the information. When I asked questions, he told me I should already know the answers. Finally, when I asked to speak to someone else, he said, "Just hang up and if you're lucky you'll get someone else next time."
Ooh, I was mad! After living in the Midwest for a few months, I forgot what it was like to be on the receiving end of active aggression.
I started to scheme up all the ways I would get back at him: calling the company, asking for a supervisor, making threats, tracking him down on Facebook and sabotaging his friendships, etc., etc. I'm ashamed to say, I even wrote some of my schemes down (which, if found, could probably be used against me in a court of law 😬).
At some point during my scheming, I turned around and happened to read the words I have written on my bedroom wall. I wrote them at the top of this post for your perusal.
Those simple instructions excite me. When I read them, I start to see visions of all the great things I'll do with them. I revel in thinking of my future opportunities to put them into practice… but this time was different. This time was the first time I read them and realized I'd broken at least half of them when I was angry with the insurance representative. How on earth would I stand up to the great persecutions in my imagination if I couldn't even be civil on a frustrating phone call?
I called the insurance company back, and I guess I was lucky. I got a different representative. She was cheerful, helpful, and exceedingly polite. I was so disappointed—I wouldn't have the chance to "overcome evil with good"!
quotidian glory
Do you ever have a word that's on the tip of your tongue, but you can't remember it? I had a word like that. I couldn't remember the word "quotidian" for about 5 years.
Quotidian means "commonplace" or describes something that happens so often or so normally that it's not even worth talking about. The passage at the top of this post describes a life of what I've come to call "quotidian glory." It doesn't leave much room for heroics, or recognition from anyone watching you.
It's just the right thing to do. Instead of trying to solve all the world's problems, let's start with the things listed above and see where they take us.
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