First person: Removing humanity from others makes it difficult to love them

Have you ever held such a strong opinion on a particular matter that you could be hurtful to others with your words or even with your attitude?

Have you ever had to rethink the extremity of an opinion when someone you love, or even your own life, intersected with the issue at the origin of the opinion?

Is it possible to hold strong opinions, even the ones not necessarily supported by the truth of God’s Word, and still be kind to those who disagree?

Why not try?

Is it possible to seek to understand others instead of dismissing them?

Could it be that taking the time to truly understand another person’s reasoning not only leaves them with the dignity we all desire but also helps inform our prayers, communication efforts and ways to help?

Is it possible to be kind (not condescending but truly kind) and still maintain our stances?

Is it possible to give ourselves permission to think deeply, ask questions if needed and do the research necessary to grasp the full picture of an issue, knowing these actions are not the same thing as advocating for, agreeing with or applauding?

What if we are wrong?

Is it also possible we could be wrong from time to time?

If that were to be the case, then do we have the courage to admit the error, apologize if necessary and move forward? Or is it easier to dig in our heels and try to justify?

Is it possible to walk in the freedom of our Lord so fully that we step around our personal opinions and potential fears and choose to truly love people?

How do you see others?

Alabama evangelist Phil Waldrep shared about this concept and notes how sometimes it’s church people who aren’t always the best at showing love.

“Love doesn’t see the faults of others but their strengths,” he said. “[W]e must learn to see others through the lens of love.”

Several nuggets on the Your Voice spreads in the print editions of The Alabama Baptist and The Baptist Paper also touch on this topic, and reading through Tucker Briley’s interview in the Someone You Should Know column provides a glimpse of an important influence in her life — built on love.

Life is messy, and it’s hard enough to love and care for those for whom we are responsible as we push through all that comes our way each day, much less add countless others along the way.

In fact, one life coach jokingly shared how all of us have baggage in life but when looking for friends and significant others, we should “only choose those with carry-ons and not full sets of luggage.”

Indeed that would make life a little lighter, especially related to those who will be part of our forever, but what if God allowed our path to cross with this person or that person for a moment for a specific reason?

What if we had an appointed job to do (possibly even as simple as being an encouragement) but chose not to open ourselves up to the possibilities of what God might do through us?

Being kind and showing love are actually super easy and don’t cost us anything.

One way we all can help each other toward an effort of genuinely showing Jesus’ love to others is to avoid labels and harsh descriptions about those we might disagree with as well as the latest current events.

Are we strong enough?

Standing on truth with love and grace truly is possible, and maintaining optimism and hope in the midst of chaos is too, but both require holding tightly to and keeping our eyes on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

No matter where you fall on the latest decisions being made in the U.S., it’s important to remember that real people’s lives are being impacted.

Amid the flurry of changes taking place are people who need understanding and love — and many of them are our friends and neighbors.