Love Others

As I look at the world around me I am amazed at how truly hypocritical the church really is. As Christians we claim day in and day to practice the greatest commandments and yet although we may truly strive to love God, do we strive to love others? I have seen some of the most God fearing people I know, figuratively stick their noses up to people who aren't like them. People they just simply may not understand.

So what if someone comes into church and are not wearing the right kind of clothing or if they aren't the cleanest person you've ever met. Have you ever stopped to think that they might not have anything else? Maybe they don't wear the type of clothing you do, but yet they have put on their best for God. What if they smell, have you ever thought that they may not be able to afford a high water bill or that they can't afford deodorant. It amazes me that people will honestly complain when someone comes in late to church and makes their way to the front while pews have to be closed off and yet people still sit as far back as they possibly can. Are you afraid that God just might speak to your heart if you are closer to the preacher? I really don't mean to be critical of the church as a whole or even of those of us who seem to judge first and love later, I just want to make the point that if we are called to love God with all our heart and mind and strength and to love our neighbors AS OURSELVES...then as Christians we are failing.

I know that I am guilty of this travesty every day. I may be a pastor, but I am not perfect. I recently went to Chicago on a mission trip with a group of teenagers and while there we ministered to many homeless and those who were less fortunate than ourselves. While on that trip I came to an eye opening realization. Although many of the people we were serving were homeless, that did not mean that they were jobless, nor were they without hope. Many were simply not well enough off to afford the cost of housing or because of the influx of those more affluent in the area they had been forced out of their homes. Yet they had hope. They still showed love to one another and to us. I had always believed that if someone was homeless that it meant they were lazy and shamelessly I believed that they were not worth my time. It was quite a revelation.

How often do I get so caught up in my own self righteousness that I miss an opportunity to minister to someone in need? Someone who just needs a hand or a shoulder to cry on? Someone who comes with a childlike faith to their creator and is mocked because they aren't like us? Church, brother and sisters in Christ, let us not be so caught up in appearances that we miss the chance to minister to one of our own. Let us love our neighbors not only as ourselves, but better than ourselves as Christ so graciously loved us.