As you read this, thoughts of the New Year will have faded away and along with the memories of Auld Lang Syne, many of our new year’s resolutions will have been forgotten. I for one, am not very good sticking with those good intentions I had on January first. I find I set myself unachievable goals or far too many things to change.
This is common to a lot of people and is not a new concept. in the Old Testament, the Jewish Nation had literally hundreds of laws and rules to live by. When Jesus was asked which the most important commandment was. He condensed them all to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your mind and your soul” and “love your neighbour as yourself” (If you want to read about this, Google Matthew 22:36-40)
These two simple phrases are at the core of how followers of Jesus try to live. They are easy to remember and yet are challenging to put into practice.
No matter what your thoughts are regarding God, treating others (our neighbours) with respect, dignity and compassion is at the heart of a good society. Many of us will connect with this idea on ‘commemorative days’ such as International Human Trafficking awareness day, Holocaust Memorial Day or International Women’s Day.
We may act to help the most needy or donating a can of food into the Food Bank collection point at a supermarket or coins into a rattling charity collection box.
How can we act well in society to put this ideal into practice on a daily basis? How can we ‘personally’ love those around us as if they were ourselves? This seems so difficult. J M Barrie author of Peter Pan is attributed with a quote that simplifies it.
“Be kinder than necessary”
If you have abandoned your resolutions or have already achieved them then maybe this is something, we all could consider. At every interaction, in the supermarket, at work, in the streets, even behind the wheel of the car in rush hour traffic ‘be kinder than necessary’ after all, that is how you and I would want to be treated.