Insights are short, biblical truths to equip you to lead from your strengths.
As Janelle reached up to close her garage door, a movement caught her eye. She noticed Mr. Wentworth, her neighbor across the street, struggling to carry two bags of groceries into his small house.
Image: Nextdoor blog
Janelle paused. During the two years since she had moved into the neighborhood, she had never really gotten to know her elderly, widowed neighbor.
And recently, Janelle found herself irritated when she saw political signs posted in Mr. Wentworth’s yard on behalf of a candidate she did not support.
“Why should I bother to help him?” Janelle grumbled to herself. “I’m busy. I’ve got too much going on. I don’t want awkward discussions to come up and I don’t want to get involved. What can one person do, anyway?”
What Janelle may not realize is the importance of her next step after that inner dialogue. How would she handle those thoughts?
She could accept her inner rumblings as a justification to give herself a pass and ignore Mr. Wentworth.
Or she could pause and ask God, “What would you have me do, Lord?”
What Can One Person Do, Anyway?
In this time of turbulence, you may be concerned with mere self-preservation. It can be tempting to judge others and isolate yourself, falling into the trap of complacent survival – of simply seeking to protect yourself and remaining on the fringes of interaction so that you can be “safe.”
What can one person do, anyway?
But consider this: more often than not, culture change is incremental. It happens one person and one step at a time.
What if God’s solution to the turmoil of our day is for individual people to take incremental steps – people like you and me?
Each day, Jesus invites us to take those simple steps. It’s such a foundational principle that Jesus called it The Great Commandment: “Love God. Love your neighbor” (Matthew 22:35-40).
So what can one person do? It may not seem like much, but it is. You can pause … ask God what you should do … and then take just one simple step to love Him and love your neighbor.
What an amazing opportunity we can play in changing the tenor of life around us.
Can It Be That Simple?
Janelle paused. “God, what would you have me do?” she asked.
Then she crossed the street, greeted Mr. Wentworth, and took the grocery bags from his hands. “Here, let me help you with those,” she said.
In the middle of a wounded, weary time, God invites you to love Him and love your neighbor.
Can it be that simple to bring about change?
Yes.
That’s one reason it’s such a great commandment.
Discover your strengths when you take the Leading From Your Strengths assessment.
More About Using Your Strengths Purposefully
Your Place in God’s Story: Is This As Good As It Gets?
Your Place in God’s Story: Why Am I Here?
Your Place in God’s Story: What Should I Do?