“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” ‒ James 5: 16 (NIV)
A few months ago, I was part of an out-of-control email chain at work. After investigating, I discovered that there were 156 recipients on the list so I emailed the original sender and asked her to remove the distribution list and take the conversation to a more private channel. My request wasn’t well received. Ultimately, I got what I wanted but not without killing a relationship that never had a chance to develop.
A month later, the email-sender (spammer?) joined my organization! Initially, we avoided any projects that required us to work together. This approach wasn’t terribly detrimental, but it certainly prevented maximum effectiveness.
After a sermon one Sunday, I walked out thinking about this person. What does love require of me? How am I supposed to love someone who doesn’t love me? Or love someone I don’t even want to work with?
I prayed and looked at the “What does LOVE require of me?” card propped on my desk. I began trying to communicate with her more informally and spent months of intentional relationship development to learn how to love someone I didn’t want to love. Now, I won’t tell you we’re best friends; we still have our differences. However, we can now work together. We share notes about the homes we’re building and stories about our families. I even learned she’s a Christian, too!
I’m learning to love the way God wants me to. Today, think of someone who’s wronged you or someone you wronged. Pray with the intention of learning to love one another.
- Shaun Hamilton