Seeking grace, love in the new year
- Kyle Snyder: Live on Purpose
- December 31, 2021
- 903
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant.” —I Corinthians 13:4.
It’s the beginning of a brand-new year, and normally, I like to tell you all how much you can do and how you should go for you dreams. However, over the last few days, it has been on my heart to see more grace and love in the world we are living in.
As a global family, we have been though the ringer when it comes to COVID. I know I am sick of hearing about it, but I am more tired of hearing people being at each other’s throats. I think back to when I was in school and hearing all of the stories of the Great Depression, how everyone looked out for and helped each other, but not so much now.
It seems to me like everyone is out for themselves and they don’t want to be told what to do. I understand not wanting to be told what to do, but can’t we give a little more love and grace to people? I understand we all feel the effects, and we feel our rights are being taken away. I agree with it, but my biggest concern is the tone we are setting for ourselves. Do we look out merely for our own interests or also for interests of others?
I am all for our rights, but I just don’t want to see people get hurt in the mix. That is where I am coming from. I feel like I need to look out for my friends’ best interests as much as my own. If my world only revolves around me, then I live in an extremely small and selfish world. It’s only when I look out beyond myself that I can see God’s bigger plan for the world.
God made us to live for him and to love others. God is love, and if we are called to be like him, then shouldn’t we be loving also? I love the old saying that we should agree to disagree. The reason I love that saying so much is it tells me that even if we disagree, we can still be friends. I told someone “let’s agree to disagree,” and she snapped back and wondered where that was in the Bible. Some people live to make sure everyone else knows they are right. It’s called pride. There was only one person that was always right, and that man died on the cross for the whole world.
One thing I am trying to work on is not engaging with people who just think they are right all the time. I could be the type of person who thinks they have to be right all the time, but as I get older, I realize I need to focus on others. There is being right, and then there is being kind. If we are right about something, sometimes the kindest thing we can do is just let people be wrong. Having everybody know we are right can cause a division with our friends. Sometimes the best thing we can do is to agree to disagree.
One of the main things to remember is we are dealing with people who have feelings. No one wants to have their feelings stepped on. The words of Christ ring true in our daily lives, “Treat others the way we want to be treated.” How would we like it if someone bulldozed over our emotions, yet I feel like we can do the same to others without even thinking about it. So in this new year, listen more and agree to disagree. We will all be better people for it.
Happy New Year. Thanks for another great year, and here’s to another great year to come!