My New Years Resolution is to be The Moon!!

While driving at night lately, have you encountered someone that would NOT switch off their brights?? Ugh!! How annoying is that, right??

How did you respond? Usually we have three ways of responding to someone who refuses to turn off their bright lights:

A - We maybe flash our brights once as a courtesy reminder, but otherwise we do nothing.
B - We flash once or twice...then wait until the last minute and switch our brights on (gotcha!).
C - We flash our lights once or twice and then leave our brights on once we figure out that they are not going to turn theirs off.

Well...chances are if you have come across someone in the Ashburn area lately that blinded you and refused to cut their brights off...it was me!! You see...I don't have any dim bulbs in my car...more to the point, I own a complicated Japanese car that is frustratingly tough to replace bulbs in!! LOL!

During this time, it has been very interesting to watch peoples response to me not being able to turn off my brights. Some (I'd say about 25%) fall into category A. They simply flash a time or two and then let it slide.

The other 75% get downright ANGRY!! And you know what....I'd probably fall into that 75% myself!!

So I can across this verse in Matthew the other day and memorized it:

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." -Matthew 7:12

Now that's Jesus talking...and the weight of this one verse is immense!! Sure...some of us take pride in being "nice people" or "generous". We smile...say hello to everyone...go out of our way to help others. That is GREAT!! And it is the first step...but it is also by far the easiest!!

You see, the real question is: How do we RESPOND to people who treat us unfairly??

We live in an age of ego and "fairness" where people get what they deserve (in our own opinions). Most of us are REACTIVE and we respond to others how they treat us first!!

But look at what Jesus said: "In EVERYTHING..." To quote the great Kat Williams: E-ver-ry-thing? E-VER-RY-THING!! Not just your initial actions, but also your responses!!

Man...that's TOUGH!! If some of you are like me, you're reading this and going "Wow...I don't like this at all!!"

LOL...That's the society we have grown up in shining through!! Our movies and TV shows and Novels all defy this one simply commandment from Jesus. When is the last time you saw or read a story where a character "got what he/she deserved!". Hollywood LOVES this style of movie so much that it is in action movies, chic flics, and even cartoons!!

It might be a big pill to swallow, but it's non-negotiable!! Jesus commanded it...we must strive to follow it!!

Let me ask a question: Would YOU be willing to allow God to treat you the way you treat others...just for a day?? I wouldn't want that!! It scares me even thinking about that!!

The moon has no light of it's own. What we see from the moon is just the reflection of the light from the sun.

In many ways, that describes us as Christians. We are to reflect the light and love of The Son. Imagine for a moment if every Christian...not even every person, just every Christian...were to adopt this concept fully for one day!! Reflecting God's undying, unwavering, unconditional, and unending LOVE to everyone we meet!! WOW...imagine the lives that would be changed in just that one day!!

It starts with me. I must take this commandment that Jesus gave in Matthew 7:12 and apply it FULLY to my daily life.

As the New Year approaches, we will all be making vows...most will be to lose weight, get in better shape, save money, etc....But this year, this will be my vow. I will post it on my mirror and in my car. I will do my best to follow it fully.

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you..." -Matthew 7:12