"Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love;
in honour preferring one another;" - Romans 12:10

He never said a word (of course, it's because he hasn't learned to talk yet :-)...

...but my 6 month old son, Jacob, once again was used of the Lord to teach me a lesson.

It started yesterday.  I had a need in my life that someone close to me normally would have met without any question at all.  But, in this case, the person was tired and just didn't feel like doing what I needed.

And so, the need went unmet.

And, of course, I got a bit frustrated about it.  I felt cheated, because this person didn't take my needs into consideration.  They didn't show me the attention that I had come to expect and as a result, I felt mistreated.

I went to bed, not really angry, but just kind of feeling sorry for myself that my need didn't get taken care of.  I wanted to just tell them, "Don't you see how you have neglected something that is important to me," but I didn't.

I'm glad now that I didn't.

I woke up this morning and sat little Jacob down on a blanket in the living room to play with his "noisemakers."  (These are all kinds of rattles, keys, telephones, stuffed animals and other things that jingle, jangle and ring!)  Well, to make a long story short, Jacob wasn't interested in the noisemakers.

He wanted his daddy to play with him.

Only I didn't feel well.  I was tired and I didn't feel like laying in the floor and playing with him.  In fact, I said aloud something to the effect of, "Jacob, daddy doesn't feel well today.  Play with your toys and daddy will play with you later."

Then, the Lord spoke to me.  Oh, not that I should get down in the floor and play (although, I did end up doing that, as well :-), but rather that I should consider other people's needs and not just my own.

You see, here I was telling my little boy that I didn't feel well and was tired and didn't feel like doing what he wanted - and I EXPECTED HIM TO UNDERSTAND.

And yet, I wasn't willing to understand the EXACT SAME THING from the day before when the person didn't feel well and was tired and didn't feel like meeting my need.

Do you see the picture here?

The first point that the Lord made to me through my little boy is simply this:  don't just look at things from YOUR position, but rather look at things from the position of OTHERS as well.

Yes, I had a need yesterday that wasn't met.  But, the other person had a need that I didn't meet.  They were tired and didn't feel well and I didn't do a thing to help them out.

That's the second point the Lord made:  you're not the only one who has needs - so get started helping others out instead of demanding service for yourself.

Hard lessons, huh?

Christian, what about you?  Can you learn anything from my 6 month old baby boy?  Are you so wrapped up in your own needs, that you fail to see the needs of others?  Do you expect others to understand you, without ever taking the time to understand them?

Maybe this morning would be a good time for you and I to lay a blanket down in the floor and crawl upon it so we can see things from someone else's viewpoint.

We might be surprised at what we learn.

Have a "Wonderful DAY in Christ,"
Jimmy D. Brown
\o/ Praise Jesus!