Auto Repair Shop Owner's Daily Dose 56: What Do Other See? (Faith)

What Do Others See by Rick White, President 180BIZ

Today is my faith edition. I want to first start off by wishing all the mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn't be here. The question that I want to start off with this morning is when people look at you, what do they see? We're supposed to be Christians. But, what does that mean? It means something different to each person. To some people, it means going to church. To some people, it means they believe in Jesus. I think Christianity, being a Christian, goes a lot further than a religion.  As I've said before, I don't think God cares about religion. I don't think there's one set that gets it right and one that gets it wrong. For me, Christianity is about a relationship with Jesus or a relationship with God through Jesus. Jesus showed us what God really was. In the Old Testament, it sounds like there were times when God really got pissed. But if you are really into this and understand that the Bible is the human expression of the inspired word. It's still going to be filtered through us. It's going to be filtered through our emotions, our prejudices. And for me, I was reading this thing and it said, when people see you, what do they see?

I want to share this with you because I think it's so important and it's a journey that I'm on and I struggle with every single day. Paul in the New Testament, in four different places, talks about battling the old man. And that's his old selfish self. He talks about putting on the new man. That's what he talks about, that with Jesus we can put on a new man or woman as the case may be. So, what do people see when they when they're looking at you? And it's not about going to church. I think it's about who we bring to the table. What is our focus? If you step back and you think about it, when people see you, they're supposed to see a version of Jesus.

And again, I struggle with the old man every day, and some days I win and some days he wins.  And what is it they're supposed to see? Are they supposed to see this religious going to church and judgment? I hope not. I believe being a Christian goes above democratic, goes above Republican. I believe that it needs to go above whether you believe we should stay at home or whether you believe we should open the country up. I believe that being a Christian can be summed up in one word. Being a Christian means LOVE. Jesus said in the Bible that there are really only two commandments. Love your God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your strength and to love your neighbor and you can't love somebody and judge them. You can't love somebody and push them away. You can't love somebody and not believe in what they believe. We're not supposed to judge. We're supposed to accept. Every one of us has a different set of experiences and upbringings and morals and education.

So now what's the definition of love? The Greeks had four different definitions of love.

• Agape love – the highest form of
• Brotherly love
• Platonic love
• Erotic love

I think Mother’s Day is a great day to talk about this because never will you see a closer version, I believe of love, true love. Then a mother and their child. And guess what? I'm going to be 58 in July and I'm still my mother's baby. How many of you have kids that are all grown and they're still babies? Mama bear doesn't ever go away. What's really cool about this as the Bible gives us the definition of love in First Corinthians 13.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy; it does not boast. It's not proud. It does not dishonor others. It's not self-seeking. It's not easily angered. it keeps no records of wrong. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Ask yourself, “What do people see in me when they see me out in the world? What do they see? Do they see love? Do they seek peace? Do they see acceptance? Do they see calm and serenity?” I think if you have those traits being shown, people are going to want to know where how you do it. And that's what gives us the chance to point others to our shores, which is up there. TD Jakes once said that “Christianity is one beggar telling the other beggar where the bread is.” And I think the best way that we can do this is not to walk outside and thump people over the head with the Bibles.  We need to lead by example and show them love, acceptance, peace, forgiveness.

Forgiveness doesn't mean should stand there and take again, and again and again and again. Forgiveness means we let it go. This is what I want to see.  As for me, I am putting forth the best version of myself through Jesus because we can't do it by ourselves. It's not possible because we're selfish, self-centered, worried about ourselves. Whether I believe everything about this virus or whatever, it doesn't make a difference. I respect what you believe. I respect your political views. It doesn't make a difference. They're not right or wrong. They're a facet and if we could just have more acceptance in our lives, there'd be less division. It wouldn't be about them being right. That's not what life's about. There is more that unites us than divides us, and if we could just remember that it would be amazing.

I would like to end this with a quick prayer. Heavenly Father, I want to say thank you for your blessings today. Thank you for the two gifts I got to open today, which were my eyes. Please help me to be a light in this world, not by my actions, but by love and acceptance. Please help me to help us all to lead others to you. Thank you for the mothers that are out there. Please bless them and let them know how much they're loved and appreciated today. All of them. We ask this in your son's mighty name. Amen.

Happy Mother’s Day to all. Thank you so much. Do something for yourself today to recharge. Take care. Be safe. God Bless.