Well, here we go into 2024, and if you read current media reports, the New Year and look a lot like the Old Year: wars and manifestations of hatred could tempt you to throw your hands in the air and cry that we can’t do anything about the situation.
But it doesn’t have to be that way: there is something ridiculously simple each and all of us can do that can start the moving towards a change.
Love.
The Bible tells us that God is Love; Jesus Christ tells us all the commandments are based on two: Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and love your neighbour the way we love ourselves.
It’s simple, but difficult at the same time. Truly loving others is to put their interests ahead of our own – all the time and not when it suits us. And that is an unnatural act.
Humans are, by nature, narcissists. The old “fight or flight” response means that we tend to consider ourselves first: show ourselves in the best light; make excuses for bad behaviour, and blame others, even when confronted with the evidence that we’re responsible.
Loving others means giving others those same “breaks”.
Indeed, that’s how the Bible tells us God loves us, and experiencing that love is not about basking in it, but sharing it – being a conduit for the way we are loved and directing that flow onto others. (Some say we should “reflect” God’s love, as if we’re some kind of mirror, but that kind of outward display is prideful and puts the spotlight on us and not on God.)
Often, that love is “channelled” through seemingly insignificant acts, and you might not know what impact you had until later, if at all.
Case in point: a woman who came to the Mustard Seed Street Church’s Christmas Celebration last month started coming to the Seed’s Sunday services. She told me she had been feeling depressed and lonely, but one of the entertainers at the Celebration happened to tell her she looked pretty that day; that boosted her spirits and she was encouraged to come back to church and meet new people.
Often, you can “channel” God’s love without noticing it and it makes a difference. A young friend of mine recently closed her business – a café. She had barely survived the pandemic, but other changes proved too much. I stopped by on the last day and she gave me a hug and said, “you’ve brought such a positive attitude here.”
I have? By getting a latte and a muffin to go, and exchanging small talk? Or just something flowing through me? I’ve found that if I try to show love, bring light, spread positivity, it usually crashes hard. To flip the old cliché, don’t just do something, stand there.
(The impact of an “inadvertent” remark can turn someone’s life around, for better or for worse. NOTE TO SELF: be circumspect in anything I say or do.)
Love others. Remember that “love” does not mean “tolerate” or “be kind” or even “like”, but consider others in the best light possible and remember you’re not their judge.
It may seem simplistic to talk about sharing or “channelling” unconditional love to others, but consider a pebble, tossed into the sea: the ripple from that pebble touches someone, who passes it on to someone else, and on and on, eventually turning back the current tide of hatred, bigotry, selfishness and all that those engender.
That way, 2024 will truly be a New Year, not at all like the old one.
Drew Snider is a pastor at the Mustard Seed Street Church in Downtown Victoria. He has also written an e-book, God At Work: A Testimony of Prophecy, Provision and People Amid Poverty.
You can read more articles on our interfaith blog Spiritually Speaking at https://www.timescolonist.com/blogs/spiritually-speaking
This article was published in the print edition of the Times Colonist on Saturday, January 13th 2024
