Proverbs 19:19 (NIV)
19 A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty; rescue
them, and you will have to do it again.
Those that are of strong, or rather headstrong, passions,
commonly bring themselves and their families into trouble by vexatious suits
and quarrels and the provocations they give. To rescue them from such only
encourages them to act the same way again.
Recently, while inching along in traffic, I saw two men
in conversation on the sidewalk. One man was seated on a box at the end of the
freeway off-ramp. He was gray-haired and tired looking, and he held a cardboard
sign with a message written by an unsteady hand: "Please Help." The
other individual was a Latino man. They shared a brief exchange, and the Latino
man walked away.
As I slowly drove by the spot where the man in need sat
on his box, I caught a glimpse of the younger Latino man walking down the
street. I immediately recognized his gait—it was Juan, an immigrant who attends
the church where I pastor. I pulled over, rolled down the window, and asked
Juan if he needed a ride.
"No, my car is right there," he said, as he
pointed in its direction.
Confused, I asked what he was doing walking down the
street by the freeway.
"I just stopped to pray with that man and get him
some food," Juan said.
"Oh! Uh, wow," I said. Then I drove off, moved
by Juan's generosity.
I found out later that day that Juan has stopped before
for the old man. A member of the church choir once witnessed Juan literally
take the shirt off his back—a shirt his wife had just given him for
Christmas—and give it to the man.
Needless to say, it didn't take long to realize that
Jesus was showing me what it looks like to be a neighbor. [Bill White, Paramount, California]
We can live with rage in hatred in our lives or we can be
live Christ who lived with compassion, love, grace and mercy.
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