Loving People

How can I love people more?

This has been a constant question in my life for the past six months or so. I believe that my two main purposes in life are to love God and to love people. The God part is hard when things get messed up in my life, but it’s a whole lot easier than the “loving people” part.

I trust God, I don’t trust people (at least not the way I trust God).

But, do I have to trust people to love them? Not if I’m attempting to love them unconditionally.

I watch the movie Georgia Rule this week. My first thought after it was over was, “That didn’t do much for me.” But, then I started thinking about “Why?”. Without giving away the story line, the basis of the story is a family that’s dysfunctional and abusive. Thankfully, I did not have to deal with that growing up. But, it also means that I really don’t identify with people who have experienced this – because I’ve never taken the time to get to know them and to care about who they are.

All that has led me back to wondering how I can do a better job of loving the people around me. I think it really comes down to slowing down long enough to ask how they are doing and really wanting to hear the answer.