The people I love, I call to account – prod and correct and guide so that they’ll live at their best. Rev. 3:19 (The Message)
How many times did I hear my mom say, “If I didn’t love you so much, I wouldn’t care how you behave!” How many times did I think quietly in my head, “I wish you loved me a little less!”
This scripture comes from the part of Revelation that talks about the letter John is to write to the seven churches. Each of the churches have a mixture of people who are paying attention to God and people who aren’t paying attention.
When it comes down to it, isn’t that what each of us desires and what we each deserve from someone? In thinking over the behaviors of people I enjoy, the one that is most important is that they pay attention to me. They know when I’m there and when I’ve left. They know what makes me smile and what makes me angry. I think that this is what God desires above all else – people who pay attention to him. They listen when he speaks and they bring their lives to him, both the good and the bad.
There is a rumor that has been around for many years that people are basically selfish – that we love ourselves more than anything else. I’m starting to think that may not be true. I think that we’ve heard so much criticism from people who are important to us that we don’t have a very high opinion of ourselves.
We read the latest self-help books to learn how to become more confident, more savvy, more popular, or more knowledgeable about plumbing. We drink alcohol and pop pills in order to fill the empty places inside us – so we don’t feel so all alone. I was reading a comment on the scriptures where we are told to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. The comment was that we need to love everyone – including ourselves.
It might not be a bad idea to take some time to focus on ourselves. It has recently come to my attention that, if I don’t take care of myself, I can’t be of much use to anyone else. We need to learn to take a day off when we’re too tired, to pay attention to what our bodies are telling us. Do our joints hurt? Do our eyes still see well enough for driving? Do we have trouble remembering our names? It might not hurt to take a self-inventory – not just of the parts that are falling apart but also of the parts that are still holding strong. Can we still laugh? Can we still give time to someone who needs to talk? Can we still hold fast to those things that are important to us?
If God is still prodding, correcting, and guiding, he must still love us! That’s something we can take to the bank – he will never give up on us!
Becky Gillette is a former teacher, newspaper reporter, and preacher who seeks to take an original approach to life’s lessons. She is the author of “Jessie’s Corner: Something to Think About,” a collection of articles which she wrote for a weekly newspaper.
