Honor one another

Let Love be genuine.
Be devoted to one another in love. 
Honor one another above yourselves. 
Romans 8:9-10

I wasn’t feeling it…feeling the love. I did not want to listen but I wanted to be heard. My throat tightened and words became arrows waiting to shoot out my mouth. I bit my tongue.

Live in harmony with one another, do not be haughty, but give yourselves to humble tasks.

Romans 8:16

Listening is a humble task. Choosing to love is a humble task. Because more than a feeling to enjoy, love is a choice to make. But choosing to love when I don’t feel it and choosing the humility to listen is so hard! It’s easier to hold onto my comfort and remain silent to “keep the peace.” 
Our household is challenged to be humble a lot lately. Even within our home, we have grown up with different experiences; we have our distinctive ways of working in the world; we have nuances to our understanding of the world. And when we choose to tend to any of this, our emotions get heated. Rather than keep the peace, we have chosen to engage in hard conversations. It is giving us a lot of practice. And the practice is pushing all of us to grow. 
Maybe that’s what’s so hard about listening – being pushed to grow. Growth leads to change and realizing I need to change means I must consider my responsibility to think or act differently...and that is hard and uncomfortable work. 
I’m learning to become comfortable with discomfort. To choose to love; to choose to honor another by listening to their experience. Honoring someone else’s experience does not invalidate mine but removes my blinders and opens my eyes to the reality of experiences other than my own. I’m not always good at this but I have set my intention to keep trying…for Love’s sake.

After listening, the last thing I wanted was a kiss goodnight. But I chose to give it. I’m not sure it was received with any more joy than it was given, ha! But it was a choice made in solidarity. We are committed to love one another.
What would happen if I considered every conversation as one which I would choose to love the other person this way? As if I’m committed to living with them? Oh. Wait. We do live together…family, community, country. How can we honor one another better?

 We are either in this together or not at all. 

 P.S. July 19 and 26 I invite you to join me in worship as I preach at 11am CST http://www.northparkpres.org/worship/online-worship/ or you can listen later http://www.northparkpres.org/presbyterian-church-dallas/sermon-audio/

 

 

 

Amy Moore