Here is what my faith has taught me:
- Love everyone. EVERYONE.
Love those who are kind, thoughtful, considerate. Love those whose ideas and actions are different than yours. Love those you may disagree with. Love those who are rude, mean, who make mistakes, who've hurt you. There is no pre-requisite for loving someone. Just do it. This is probably the hardest thing to do. But the more I learn from the Bible, the more I'm filled for compassion, whether it is for someone in need or for someone who's committed horrible crimes. That's what Christianity is to me.
- Do not condemn, or judge others.
It's not my job to tell people exactly what they're doing wrong. That doesn't mean that I don't speak the truth about what is right. I should speak the truth, in love. But if I'm beating someone over the head with the truth in order to manipulate them into accepting it, now that's not right. God requires that I follow him, love others, and speak the truth. It's his job (through the Holy Spirit) to speak to people about their sin and what they need to change - not mine. So I'll leave that up to him and keep doing my part to spread the good word.
- Let my actions be my source of influence
This is definitely something I need to work on, because as of late I have been grumpy and negative and not the best reflection of Christ's love. However this is something I feel very strongly about. It's easy to post a Facebook status, wear a t-shirt or other accessory, write a blog post, or use speech to express your faith. These aren't bad things. But sometimes the things people say don't line up with their actions. Sometimes people talk a good talk, but treat people like dirt. I want to be known as a person who cares about others unconditionally, who treats people with respect, who is trustworthy and consistently does what is right. The only way I can prove myself as such a person is through my actions. If I'm letting God change my heart daily and consciously making an effort to follow his lead, people will see those qualities in me without me having to say a word about it.
I don't really have a "New Year's Resolution", but I do hope that from this point on I can do a better job of following Christ's example. I'm just going to take it day by day. Step one: stay positive.
