Two businessmen at a gathering were talking about their female secretaries who had been working for them for over 10 years. One said, “My secretary’s wrinkles are showing, her reflexes have worsened, and she keeps forgetting things. I have decided to replace her next month.” Then the other said, “My secretary is also making many mistakes recently and she even grinned at me for no reason. Seeing wrinkles on her face, I felt angry and pain.”
“What are you feeling pain for?” the first businessman asked.
“Think about it, she has been working for me since her 20’s and the hard work is aging her. In the blink of an eye, she is almost 40.”
In fact, these two secretaries are similar in age and have similar abilities, but why do their bosses see them so differently? I often hear a saying that applies to lovers or friends: “At first, you are attracted to each other because of each other’s characteristics; but after some time, you may break up due to those characteristics.”
As of the relationship among church brothers and sisters, we may have come together because of our common faith in the gospel. However, after a period of getting along and serving the Lord together, our differences might tense up our relationship, driving us apart whilst we still appear to be on good terms. However, the Bible tells us to “love one another” and “love your neighbours as yourself”. If we want to truly love each other, we not only need to remind each other of the truth, but we also need to accept and appreciate each other. We need to love the lovable parts of each other and accommodate the unlovable parts.
So, how do we live out the qualities of accepting and appreciating each other?
- See each other through God’s eyes and honor and respect each other;
- Let go of your prejudice about the others;
- Start by focusing on other people’s efforts and contributions and affirm them;
- If you want to remind other people out of love, please do it in a way that builds up and edifies.
I hope that we can practice loving each other and build a family that “appreciates each other”, allowing brothers and sisters to grow in love for the Lord, and allowing newcomers to experience the Lord’s love and truth in this family, and recognize that we are all disciples of the Lord.
Rev. Florence Wong