I'm not my own.

If I had to tell you one lesson that I've learned recently that seemed to stand out, it would have to be that my life is not my own. I've seen it in my own life and I've seen it in the lives of the people around me. we can't just do what we please without taking into account the people our actions might effect. Maybe laughing at the girl who is different than you is fun, but chances are it's only fun for you. Maybe you thought the kind words you said to the cashier today were meaningless, but maybe they saved her life. I'm sure you weren't trying to be a bad example when you mouthed off to the man who accidentally cut you off at the grocery store, but that little boy saw the whole thing. These are all just silly examples I pulled out of thin air, but I've seen each one of these happen. It isn't that this is a new concept to me, but I've never really realized how much I can effect people that I dont even know are watching me. People I'll never see again. I have no way of knowing what these people are facing and I have no idea how my actions might effect them. Good or bad. Maybe I've been hit with this realization because I have had a lot of careless people in my life who acted how they pleased without stopping to even notice that I was getting hurt as a result of their carelessness or maybe because I have had to make some important decisions lately that have called for me to account for the effects it will have on those in my immediate circle. Maybe it's just this growing up thing again. Common courtesy doesn't seem to be such a common thing anymore and maybe this is another reason I've been seeing this so much lately. People just dont seem to care about other people. They care about themselves and the needs of everyone around them comes second. People don't seem to think that what they do, what they say, how they say it, how they treat others, etc. matters to anyone but them. The selfishness of people astounds me. I'm not claiming to be blameless here. I'm stubborn and I can be selfish and I know I'm not always a glittery ray of sunshine like some people seem to think, but I try to account for the feelings of the people around me in my every day life. I've found that consideration for strangers is becoming harder and harder to find. I don't have some great profound thoughts on this, it's just been on my mind and I felt the need to ramble. I think it's really important, especailly as Christians, that we are demonstrating Christ's love and kindness and grace during the most seemingly mundane parts of our lives. We need to be the ones setting the example for unbelievers. We are the body of Christ, but we can't just claim this and not live it out. When people look at us and interact with us, they need to see something different. It needs to be evident in our everyday living that there is something different about us. When they see us they should see Jesus.

"We stand for those who can not stand for themselves and we love the loveless and we go where Your lights not shining. We are the body of Christ."