So tonight I was mowing my weeds/grass... (this picture is for effect and is not my yard. If it was, I would be paying someone to mow it) and we have neighbors who never mow their weeds/grass.
While I was mowing, the verse came to my mind that I am always preaching... James 4:17 "Do the good you know to do. If you do not, that is sin."
I am always throwing this verse around (along with Isaiah 1:17) when it comes to huge atrocities like Human Trafficking, or feeding the poor, or water for the thirsty, etc...
But suddenly, I "encountered" a moment that I could put my beliefs into action on a small scale...
My neighbors are in a home for the elderly and sick... I am pretty sure that they could not mow the yard themselves and the guy who is taking care of them probably doesn't care... Maybe he does and maybe I need to work on not judging others, but that is a whole other blog :-)
Anyways I did it... I mowed their weeds/grass... And as soon as I started, I felt this overwhelming sense of, "what are you doing?" You are crossing into their property! You are forcing your beliefs that grass should be cut, onto them! What if they don't want their weeds/grass mowed! What if they come out and yell at you???? And other crazy thoughts...
I quickly got over it and kept mowing... I even blew their driveway and walkway off and just took care of business...
While I was finishing my yard I was reflecting on why it was so hard for me to do that... Why was it so hard for me to get out of my comfort zone?? I mean it was just a simple thing... I think culturally I have been taught to "mind my business," to "take care of my own," to "be better than my neighbors," etc, etc... Even in evangelical churches we pump up the idea of going overseas on mission trips... and we pump thousands of dollars into "sending" and trying to convert others....
Jesus told the lawyer (Luke 10:27) that the most important thing was to love God and to love others....
I wonder what would happen if we all shattered our cultural norms of minding our own business, got out of our comfort zones, and just loved others like ourselves. No hidden agenda, no concern for if they will eventually believe like we do... Just love!
In the end it doesn't matter what we say we believe, it matters what we do.
I don't write this to pat myself on the back, but to share my personal struggles, and to encourage everyone to stretch yourself, get out of your comfort zone and love others.
