Galatians 5: 14

The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

I am so sad right this second.

I just found out that one of my favorite actors on one of my favorite TV shows committed suicide. It was quite a shock. Here’s this person who looks like he has it all. He’s got a great acting job so that means he has more than enough money.  He’s famous so that means he has lots of friends( yeah, I know that might not be the case.) He’s good-looking and  most likely healthy and fit.

And yet obviously, what the world saw from the outside wasn’t the truth.

Anyway, you may be wondering what this has to do with the title of Love Thy Neighbor. And I’m going to explain that right now.

There are so MANY hurting people in the world these days. They hurt physically, mentally, and emotionally. No, I don’t believe we have the power to stop them from hurting themselves if that’s truly what they want to do. But I do believe there’s an epidemic of loneliness in the world. It almost seems as technology allows us to connect easier, that loneliness increases not decreases.

WE may not be able to alleviate all the loneliness and sadness in the world, but we do have the power to smile at them, to make them smile, to make them feel a little less alone in the world even if for a moment.

I am by nature shy. My husband on the other hand is NOT. And he’s taught me a great lesson that we all need to learn. It doesn’t matter where we’re at, he will talk to the waiters, the waitresses, the cashiers, or the person in line. He’ll say something funny to them, something to make them smile. I once heard him have a 15 minute conversation on the phone with the TV satelite person about fishing.

My point is he connects with other people.

I’ve learned to do it by watching him. It’s not as easy for me but when I do it, people almost always respond positively. It only takes a moment, but it makes them smile and hopefully feel a little better that day.

And here’s the really amazing thing. When you take the time to connect with someone else even  for a moment, you’ll feel a little less alone as well.

We often think that love thy neighbor has to take a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of money, but that’s not true.

It only takes a moment to smile at someone.

Who have you smiled at today?