March 18
Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19
I continually teach my kids to treat others how they want to be treated. My children, like all of us, are prone to treat others how they are treated rather than treating others with love, kindness, and grace, regardless of their actions. Since we all have been hurt by others, it is easy to multiply this pain rather than be beacons of light and love. Deuteronomy 21-25 challenges us to consider this ethic of generosity and grace. We see it in the way that a captive woman was to be treated, in allowing her to mourn for a month and even be released if the marriage did not work out. We see it in the way that a wayward animal was to be kept and returned to its owner rather than claimed as one’s own. Similarly, a runaway slave is to not be re-enslaved but instead provided with freedom. The Israelites were called to treat others with love and compassion and to see every person as having value and worth.
As we go about our day, it is easy to see employees, neighbors, and family members as inconveniences and obstacles rather than people to love. We should learn to look at every person we come across as a human made in God's image and thus, someone to love, whether in a brief interaction or an extended relationship. Let us be people of love, grace, and kindness, no matter how we are treated.
Father God, thank you for your example of love. Help me to love others like you love me and intentionally value each person you put in front of me today. Give me a heart to seek the good of others and not just what is best for me. Amen.
How can you more intentionally value people today, especially those who are on a different wavelength?
I continually teach my kids to treat others how they want to be treated. My children, like all of us, are prone to treat others how they are treated rather than treating others with love, kindness, and grace, regardless of their actions. Since we all have been hurt by others, it is easy to multiply this pain rather than be beacons of light and love. Deuteronomy 21-25 challenges us to consider this ethic of generosity and grace. We see it in the way that a captive woman was to be treated, in allowing her to mourn for a month and even be released if the marriage did not work out. We see it in the way that a wayward animal was to be kept and returned to its owner rather than claimed as one’s own. Similarly, a runaway slave is to not be re-enslaved but instead provided with freedom. The Israelites were called to treat others with love and compassion and to see every person as having value and worth.
As we go about our day, it is easy to see employees, neighbors, and family members as inconveniences and obstacles rather than people to love. We should learn to look at every person we come across as a human made in God's image and thus, someone to love, whether in a brief interaction or an extended relationship. Let us be people of love, grace, and kindness, no matter how we are treated.
Father God, thank you for your example of love. Help me to love others like you love me and intentionally value each person you put in front of me today. Give me a heart to seek the good of others and not just what is best for me. Amen.
How can you more intentionally value people today, especially those who are on a different wavelength?
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