If every man's internal care
Were written on his brow,
How many would our pity share
Who raise our envy now?
~Peitro Metastasio
Have you ever taken the time to really look at another person and try to imagine what their life must be like? So often I think I go about so caught up in my own chaos that I forget to see what others around me are going through in their own lives.
My daughter shared a message that they learned at a BYUI fireside. The speaker told them that there is one choice that we can make each day that will change our lives forever.
We must make the choice to treat others as people, and not as tools.
I have thought about that a lot over the past few months. How often do we look at others as merely someone who will fill some role in our lives?
The teacher at the school isn't a person... they are a tool that teaches our children. The checker at the grocery store isn't a person... they are a tool that is moving too slowly and making us late for our appointments. The Primary teacher who doesn't show up to teach her class, my children who have chores to do around our home, my husband who needs to bring home enough to pay the bills and had better be a supportive husband and father so I can take a break, and even myself.... Can I allow myself to see my own worth beyond what I can accomplish in the home, the church, or the community??
Now don't get me wrong, things have to get done in this world, and people are the ones to do them. But we often don't take the time to look beyond the roles that people play in our lives to see the individuals who fill these roles and see who they really are.
President Thomas S. Monson said this, "Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved."
Don't we all expect others to treat us this way?? We often want others to extend that grace and forgiveness to us that we are unwilling to extend to them. So my goal is to try to see others as our Savior sees them, and to love them for who they really are instead of what they can do for me, and through it all to just Keep Breathing.
"The Savior doesn't just speak to the masses. He ministered and showed love to the one. They weren't all beautiful and perfect. He looked at their heart. He does with you also."
~Pres. James E. Faust~
We must make the choice to treat others as people, and not as tools.
I have thought about that a lot over the past few months. How often do we look at others as merely someone who will fill some role in our lives?
The teacher at the school isn't a person... they are a tool that teaches our children. The checker at the grocery store isn't a person... they are a tool that is moving too slowly and making us late for our appointments. The Primary teacher who doesn't show up to teach her class, my children who have chores to do around our home, my husband who needs to bring home enough to pay the bills and had better be a supportive husband and father so I can take a break, and even myself.... Can I allow myself to see my own worth beyond what I can accomplish in the home, the church, or the community??
Now don't get me wrong, things have to get done in this world, and people are the ones to do them. But we often don't take the time to look beyond the roles that people play in our lives to see the individuals who fill these roles and see who they really are.
President Thomas S. Monson said this, "Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved."
Don't we all expect others to treat us this way?? We often want others to extend that grace and forgiveness to us that we are unwilling to extend to them. So my goal is to try to see others as our Savior sees them, and to love them for who they really are instead of what they can do for me, and through it all to just Keep Breathing.
"The Savior doesn't just speak to the masses. He ministered and showed love to the one. They weren't all beautiful and perfect. He looked at their heart. He does with you also."
~Pres. James E. Faust~
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