The Way It Should Be

Dishonesty. Broken relationships. Not giving all of the information. Considering others less than yourself. Our home has been plagued with disturbing trends and I am at my wits end. We value relationships, value people, value honesty and value each others' property as their own. In fact, property has a sort of sanctity to it. What is valuable to another is not always valuable to us, but we consider the other person in it and give value and meaning to that property because of the relationship.
In this home, we see people for their own intrinsic worth, trying to see them as Christ sees them. It is our mandate as Christians to give inherent value to one another. When someone in our home de-values another in word or deed, the whole family feels it. Racism, criticism, agism, any form of -ism is a way that we speak of differences. I want this home to be one where each is valued for who they are, not what they do. We all bleed red blood and it is in Christ alone that our value can be measured. His blood is the only standard by which we can be measured and we will always fall short without His grace, His mercy.
When property is damaged or stolen, each of us feels it in some way or another. We feel the others' anguish, the one who has lost. We feel invaded, sometimes molested by losing our privacy. We begin to protect our valuable items from each other and lose trust. We wonder about the others' honesty and in so doing, lose sight of the person's worth, their own value. lack of trust is a problem, and trust is something that takes so long to build. Lying and stealing have a few things in common and our home has been invaded.
We have also been invaded by broken relationships. Taking offense, choosing to hear what someone else has said with a filter of hurt or grievance has broken relationships in this home. It breaks our hearts to have anyone outside of the fellowship of family. We all feel it, the tension, the anger, the hurt. Looking for answers to this, we find Romans 12:9 and following to be really helpful. It reminds us to keep the peace, not to offend or be offended. It reminds us that what one feels, all feel. This must pertain to hurt feelings, missing belongings, lies and being considered different than others.

Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

 ^11-13Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

 ^14-16Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody.

 ^17-19Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. "I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it."

 ^20-21Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.

I notice that this talks about cheerful expectance. It reminds us to play second fiddle, not to consider ourselves as better than another. To discover the beauty in everyone. I am so concerned that we are losing sight of this within our own home and need to be reminded! My prayer today is that I will see the value in those around me. I will seek to be a good friend who loves deeply. I want to get the best of evil by doing good! I recognize the need to re-establish broken relationships, to build new ground, getting along with everybody to the best of MY ability. I know that offense can be easily taken. But I also know people rarely chose to leave an offense, so it is important for us to do our best to stay clear on both accounts. 

For my family, for times of fellowship, for things that are not worth as much as the relationship, for honesty and respect, I will keep ever on the watch! I want to get rid of all dishonesty, distrust, lying and stealing. And in this day, I will look for the value in each person around me.