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Lenten Devotions

Day 19: Written by Theresa Stene

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“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  Matthew 22:36-40

Loving God with all you heart and soul is pretty straightforward.  The “love our neighbor as yourself” is harder and it takes more work!  Accepting differences and tolerating opinions is not always easy-when they conflict with your own.  I need to put the fear of what I don't know or understand in its place and respect others with kindness and understanding.

I grew up in a very small town. I learned the importance of work, to help others and to be kind to people.  However, everyone I knew was the pretty much the same; we were cautious of people different than us. There was little diversity and variety among the people I grew up with and that was a liability when it came to recognizing differences.

Nurtured in this background, I am rarely politically correct, and my kids let me know it. I tell them things my mother would say and they are appalled. They need to realize where she came from, the era she grew up in, the circumstances of her life and learn to recognize how all those conditions influenced her.

Not agreeing with another person's perspective is okay.  I must try and stay committed to what I feel is right and ethical while respecting the other person's viewpoint.  I work at being interested in how the uniqueness of others has been shaped by their particular experiences, their family, and their culture.

Tolerance towards others and the ability to accept other viewpoints while recognizing, justifying and expressing one's own might make all of us less insecure and we might be a little more accepting and receptive dealing with the opinions we don't share.

The sense of being a contributing piece to a larger puzzle has led me to want to give an opinion, an idea, or an action because I need to try and help make life as I see it, a
better experience for all.

Prayer:  Dear God, help me understand others and their point of view when they differ from my own.  Let me appreciate my opinions and understand others and why they believe what they do.  Give me the curiosity to have an open mind to see the similarities that adhere us together and help me realize the differences make us unique individuals.  Amen.

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