Why is it so easy to take advantage and hurt those closest and dearest to us? Why does it somehow seem better to treat poorly those who we love the most? If someone is so willing to give everything for me, why do I hold on even tighter to what is already mine instead of sharing the goodness with them?
These are some questions that have been rattling around in my head in recent days. They all seem to cut to the core of who we are as people, or atleast this is true for me. It all seems to come down to love. If I could only love perfectly, these questions would not need to be raised for they wouldn't be an issue.
It is easy to hurt those close to us because we know that for the most part, they will take us back and forgive us for what we have done, so we somehow decided that it is okay to hurt them. I'm not sure about everyone, but I know this is both true for my relationship with God as well as others in my life. Since God always forgives us and takes us back as long as we repent sincerely, it makes it difficult not to stray from the straight and narrow. If God will take me back, why not go a little off the path He has made for me so that I can have a little more fun just this one time? Sadly, I do the same thing with my family and friends at times as well. I make a hurtful comment here, a sarcastic remark there, I am not fully present with people. If I could love God, my family and friends more perfectly, I wouldn't desire such things that would hurt or cause them harm. I would do everything I could to stop them for being injured, instead of inflicting pain upon them. So why do I still do this? Because it can feel good at times, and since I am a selfish being, as long as I am feeling good why not do it?
These same principles can be applied to the other questions as well. Or so it seems for me from my experience. Most of the problems I find popping up in my life either have to do with a lack of or imperfection of love and selfish tendencies. If I simply cared less about myself and making myself feel as I want to feel, I would have alot more time to care about how those I love are feeling and doing what needs to be done to make them happy. If I loved everyone wholly, without holding anything back, without exception or limitation life would be everything I could have ever imagined.
Lord, please help all of us to break free from ourselves. Help us to be: Free to love without wondering if we will be loved back. Free to do for others what we wish would be done for us. Free to give of ourselves without counting the costs. Free from all that is holding us back from closer union with You. I ask this in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, Amen.
