"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." #LightTheWorld day 4
I think we can all do with improvement in the area of loving our neighbours as ourselves.
If we ever hope to overcome or evolved natures... that natural tendency to thinking of self and our own survival or comfort first... then learning to put others needs above our own is a crucial first step.
It starts with simple things.
The #LightTheWorld campaign website makes the following suggestions for Day 4
Jesus told us to love our neighbors. Whether our “neighbors” live next door or in another country, we can show Christlike love for them through service.
WAYS YOU CAN LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
How well do you know your next-door neighbor?
Take a moment to have a meaningful conversation with him or her.Do families in your community give out neighbor gifts during the Christmas holiday?
See if your neighbors would be willing to forgo the gifts this year and instead put the money toward a meaningful cause.Who in your neighborhood is forgotten during Christmas?
Pay them a visit, and deliver some goodies.
These suggestions are not really difficult and I am sure you can come up with ones that are as relevant to your own set of circumstances.
In the comments please don't share with us necessarily what you did, but how it made you feel.
Yesterday we had some great contributions from the community and I have been voting lots of interactions and a couple of posts from the #lighttheworld hashtag
I will continue monitoring the #lighttheworld hashtag and will be throwing all spare voting power in that direction, to comments and posts.
If you decide to participate using your own top level post, please just insert the days video, theme and link, as I have done. The rest is up to you and lets see how creative and positive a contribution we can all make.
This is the one, from the community, I gave the biggest vote for day 3.
https://steemit.com/lighttheworld/@methusalem/freely-ye-have-received-freely-give
Oh man this is a great one! Our next door neighbor never married and does not have children. She is a very kind senior citizen. Today after school I will ask my kids what we can do for her today. Thanks for spreading the word to #lighttheworld!
Great idea! Hi there ... I am new to Steemit but not at all new to social media. Your post is well-deserving of my first comment on this crypto-website ... my first ever crypto-website to be a member of. I am thankful for having been accepted into this community and I'm thankful to run into this inspirational post and your comment! So thank you and what goes around comes around <3
Thanks! You should try one of these posts. We need as many participants as we can get.
A great post and I believe that treating our neighbors the way they deserve, we make them only worse. Touching them as if they are better than what they really are, we make them get better. Thank you @gavvet
A powerful sentiment; if we all got what we deserved ... well, let's just be glad that we don't all get what we deserve in this life. In the meantime, yes we should treat people better than we think they deserve -- heck, better than they think they deserve. Being treated as trustworthy makes us want to be worthy of trust.
We can all make each other better. A very good derivation of @gavvet's post.
This is surely brilliant. We are encouraged to give always, but if you havent been giving, this is an opportunity.
Just like @gavvet said, different strategies work in different locations.
Businesses have many ways they can organize donations to worthy causes. If your company is large enough, a foundation may be an effective long-term way to share a portion of your company’s success with the community. Even if that is too large an undertaking, it may still make sense for your company to have a charitable giving committee. A standing committee helps manage the company’s donations, plus it involves staff in a “feel good” service. If a donation pool is budgeted at the beginning of the year, and a committee is in place, the company can quickly respond to emergencies caused by natural disasters and other unanticipated events, as well as have a plan for ongoing gifts. So we all have ways we can contribute to those in need, nobody is the exempted and as you do so, Philippians 4:19. “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” ...
This is an awesome project. Am surely going to be a part of it.
The thing most people fail to realize is that
Children love to receive gifts but we forget that they also love to give gifts also.
You would be doing them and yourself a big favor if you inculcate this habit into them now that they are young, and help them realize they can make a difference.
An idea in this line would be to bake and take Christmas cakes and cookies to nursing and retirement homes. While you’re there, sing a few Christmas carols.
This would be a memory worth remembering all the days of their lives, a feeling money can never buy.
An awesome awesome concept. There's no better way to spend the Christmas season, than giving. #lighttheworld is a wonderful initiative.
Most of the time, we see giving as transferring something physical, but I feel there are other ways we could carryout giving.
The most precious gift you can offer the needy this time of year is your time. Volunteers are always needed and appreciated during the holiday season. Take a few hours out of your week and donate your time to local shelter programs, soup kitchens or other organizations that are overwhelmed with requests for assistance this time of year.
This form of giving is truly priceless. Keep on the good work @gavvet.
Great post showing real life ways to put these verses into action. Reading the Bible and knowing the verses is only the first step. "Putting skin on the verses" by putting them into action is often the more difficult step.
Thanks @gavvet for this initiative. Its well welcomed.
You know, a lot of people might say they don't have enough money to buy gifts for others, and stuff like that. But people prefer the very little things of life. For instance whether it’s the elderly couple whose driveway needs shoveling or the single mom who could use a mother’s helper, you probably have someone on your own block who could use a hand. Your family may be able to offer the lifeline they need during the holiday season.
With little funds, you could start a holiday tradition of allocating a certain amount of money for each child to give to a charity of their choice. Make the money one of the kids’ gifts under the tree or in their stocking on Christmas morning in the form of a homemade gift certificate.
So there is no excuse, everyone has something to give.
If we truly follow all the teachings of Jesus, message of peace will prevail.
مرحبا صديقى @gavvet كيف حالك امل ان تكون بخير
Just this week in church we were looking at Matthew , 22:15-22, which I think applies deeply to what it looks like to be a loving neighbor.
Matthew 22:18-21
18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
At church our pastor spoke with a focus on verse 19 and how first, Jesus doesnt have any money on him, and second the coin would proclaim Cesaer as King and son of god, so a Jew shouldn't be owing this if he really believes in God, which makes it ironic that the Pharisee had the coin. But most importantly this idea of Give to Caesar what is Caesars, and to God what is God's is very closely attached to your call, God's call, for us to be loving to one another.
Here you see Jesus saying, do you come under the worldly king, king Caesar, identifying your value in your reputation, wealth, worldly power and comfort, or do you come under King Jesus and all that this involves. Because if you actually give to God what is God's that will necessarily include your heart, mind and soul, and this proximity to God is not possible unless we are daily striving to be this light you are asking of us, which God is asking of us.
So since that sermon I'm asking myself, how do I answer this question? I do profess the name of Jesus but do I live that way too? Do I show it by loving and serving sacrificially? Do I walk with Jesus and ask him to change me in His power and for his glory? Truth is, I do not love and serve the way I believe God would want me to.
All this to say, thanks for the message. Your post is a needed reminder, I feel called to be more loving and your post is one reminder of the path He has for me. Thanks. Blessings.
#lighttheworld