Today, I want to offer one simple yet profound piece of advice to you as a Christian: go easy on people. The world seems harder and colder than ever before, and it’s natural to let the aggression and hostility of others keep us from being effective ambassadors of God’s love. We have to fight the tendency to put our heads down and plow through or constantly resist the urge to power up and retaliate, especially when we are provoked without warning or reason. We live in a society where many people are bottling up their pain and anger and taking it out on everyone else. While it’s not okay, it’s a symptom of the brokenness of sin; it just seems to be magnified in our current age. Individuals have all sorts of challenges and losses they’re facing, but instead of dealing with them properly, they put up a shield. While there are numerous reasons for this, the bottom line is that many of our fellow human beings feel alone and unsupported. Deep down, they don’t believe there is anyone in their lives willing to walk through the valley with them, so they just pretend it doesn’t exist. This is a very sad reality because the human soul is extremely fragile and needs to be tended to and cared for. 

Friend, the next time someone cuts you off in traffic, instead of yelling at them or pounding your steering wheel, lift up a prayer for their healing. Or when a rudely-acting person cuts in front of you in line at the market, try smiling at them, complimenting them, or even buying their groceries. You see, the only antidote to pain in this world is love expressed in practical and tangible ways; that’s the example Jesus set for us as His disciples. He cared tenderly and compassionately for people’s souls and ascribed worth and dignity to their lives apart from their behavior. When you show radical mercy to the least deserving, you begin to dismantle walls of fear and anger and allow the healing power of God to flow through you!