These days it seems easier and easier to be frustrated with the people in our lives. People on the bus. People at the store. People online. People on the TV. People in fictional movies and shows. The people who wrote the script for the shows. The people driving cars around you. Everybody seems to have more and more reasons to be frustrated with their fellow woman or man. But why?

Seemingly it is due to the sin nature that lives within each human on this planet. We have flaws inside of us like jealousy, anxiousness, stubbornness, anger, and laziness to name a few. We also have flaws that we bring on ourselves like eating habits, workaholicism, tiredness, and more. Because of all that mess inside us all it becomes easy to get upset, frustrated, and annoyed with people who don't look, think, act, or believe like we do. True or false??? (true)

It is very comforting to me that God knew this would be part of our nature once sin entered the world. When God communicated with Moses he taught "You shall not hare your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor....you shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Leviticus 19:17-18). God knew then that He had to give us clear instruction because our brokenness would lead us to this disastrously behavior towards our fellow humans.

Additionally, when Jesus was alive He ALSO taught us lessons on loving the people in our lives.

1. John 15:12 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." -Jesus
2. Mark 12:31 "The second most important commandment out of all is to love your neighbor as yourself." -Jesus
3. Luke 6:27-31 "Love your enemies....do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you....as you wish others would do to you, do so to them."

The next time I (or you) are about to get upset with a random person OR with a person we know really well in our lives...stop, remember the commandments from God and Jesus to love one another, breath deep, and show love, respect, grace, and happiness to that person.

Amen.

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