Simple Life In Christ
Things should be made as simple as possible, but not any simpler. ~Albert Einstein

What are People for?

Posted February 7, 2008

The above is a title of an essay that I read recently. The essay focused on our society and the abuse of individuals in it, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the title! It is certainly a question worth considering.

How would God answer that question? Why did He create us? God seems to think that people live to be the object of His love. (Ps. 149:4 and John 3:16 among many others) It’s hard to imagine that God wanted me to exist purely for the joy of my existence and for the opportunity to love me! It’s even harder to remember that He has the same plan for those that I think exist to make my life difficult. You know who I mean; the neighbor with the barking dog, the dentist, the people around me in traffic, my co-worker who drives me crazy each and every day……and on and on.

You see, this is what got me thinking so hard about this question. Do I see people as the objects of God’s love? No, I don’t. I see many people as obstacles that stand between me and what I want and I do what I can to defeat them. Others I see as suppliers of what I want and I do what I can to get this out of them. Still others are people to be avoided and kept at a distance because they irritate me in some way. What’s wrong with this view? Clearly it’s not a godly point of view…that’s because it’s my own selfish point of view! When I put ME in the first place, it automatically puts everyone else, including God, in the WRONG place! If I can manage to think of God and other people before myself, I have a much better chance to truly appreciate what people are for.

If I can remember that people were created to have a relationship with God and be the object of His love, how will that change MY relationships with them?

This can help me see beyond the trivial pursuits of my daily life and look for opportunities to reflect the love of Christ on others.

It can help remind me that this great love is constantly available for me. Finding fulfillment in the love of God frees others from having to satisfy me all the time!

It can revolutionize my ‘difficult’ relationships if I call a ceasefire and begin to look for what God loves about my ‘enemy’!

I hope this week I can be a little more focused on what God thinks people are for.

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5 Comments so far

  1. raequin on February 7th, 2008

    It is hard for me to remember this when the time is most ripe. If given enough time to assess the situation and think about it, I can keep this in mind, but it is not yet enough a part of me to be reflex. It is something for me to pray for.

  2. lori in pa on February 8th, 2008

    The stab I feel as I read this is the realization that often the people I “use” or see as obstacles the most are the ones with whom I share the most — the husband from whom I want acts of service, my child who I view as eating up “my” time with her demands for my service — on and on.

  3. gene on February 8th, 2008

    –
    i enjoyed this post.

    thanks for the reminder!

  4. Jeff on February 11th, 2008

    J Jesus First
    O Others Second
    Y Yourself Last

    The idea of having a godly perspective on life is to understand how God wants us to be. Without the focus of others first, I am my biggist burden.

  5. elegg on February 11th, 2008

    Thanks for the comments, you guys! It is definitely a real challenge for me in my walk!