Screw You! Now that I have your attention...

 

I was sitting at a traffic light recently when a car pulled up beside me with a cartoon decal that said to all who glanced his way, “Screw you!”.   I am not easily offended and most days while this would not have amused me, it wouldn’t have had any noticeable effect on me.  Not this day.  My heart was immediately broken.  I couldn’t take my mind off what could have possibly happened in this man’s young life that the message he most wanted to proclaim to the entire world was, “Screw you.”

I’m not going to lie.  I’ve had my “Screw you” moments but they were always sent out in anger and honed in with laser precision to a specific individual who had “done me wrong”.   I can’t imagine that this man purchased and placed this decal on his car as a message to just one person who had made him mad.  No, this young man feels that way toward everyone.  You, me, the homeless guy on the corner and that cute little girl at Chick-Fil-A who always delivers with a smile.

What brings a person to this place?  My heart was heavy with the weight of a broken world as I realized that this man is not alone.  He is a member of a very large club of wounded souls in need of something more than this world has to offer them.  

Who was the first to break this guy’s heart?  Was it his mother who favored her drug addiction over hugs and kisses from her little man?  Was it his father who left before he was born or worse, stuck around to take his rage at his own circumstances out on his son?  Was it the foster system?  A trusted relative or family friend who violated that trust and crushed the spirit of a young boy with a head full of dreams?

I am somewhat of a Pollyanna by nature and stewing on these despicable possibilities is completely out of character for me.  And yet, a stirring in my soul has not let me forget that moment when I casually looked out of my car window and the music on the radio was silenced and the traffic surrounding me disappeared.  All I could see was a fallen world so much in need of a Savior that I wanted to cry.  I didn’t because… you know… my makeup…but I really wanted to cry.

So now what?  Why is the Holy Spirit nudging me with memories of this experience?  What can I do?  I don’t know this man.  I didn’t even make eye contact with him.  It might not have even been his car!  Yet, here I am writing this because God knows, and I know that this man represents so many lost souls that are crying out in silence for help.  Their cries look like raunchy, offensive decals, T-shirts with less than friendly messages, scowls and random acts of downright rudeness. 

There is nothing I can do.  Right?  Who am I to change the world? 

But scripture tells us that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.  Philippians 4:13

With man, it is impossible.  With God, all things are possible.  Matthew 19:26

In Luke 15:3-7, Jesus teaches us that we can and should make a difference to just one.

And then…. rising up from the depths of my soul, I hear it.

Love my people.  Just love my people.  When I’m on my knees pleading for the Lord to move my own mountains and ask for guidance about what I should do, what I keep hearing is, “Love my people.”

But who are God’s people?  Our friends at church?  Certainly.  Our loved ones?  Of course!

But are the ugly people God’s people?  The mean people?  The crazy people?  The President?  Democrats?  Republicans?  Your boss?  My boss?  That woman who stabbed you without reason when your back was turned?  And men ……. like this young man.  Love them.  Love is not a feeling.  It is a verb.  You have to DO it.  And you have to choose to do it because it doesn’t always come naturally. 

I encourage you as we wrap up this season of perpetual hope to show God’s love to all with whom you encounter.  You may never know what that one smile or gesture will do to help to change a heart.  My prayer is that you are able to see the impact of your love and kindness so that it will encourage you to, as it says on the shampoo bottle, “rinse and repeat.”  That is our calling:  Yours and mine.  To show the love of Christ to all that we meet whether we feel like it or not.  We are instructed to extend the same grace and mercy that the Lord offers us.  But even if you can’t see where your gestures of love have made a difference, continue with confidence that they are making a difference.   

My mother was fond of saying, “There but for the grace of God, go I”.  Remembering this sparked my curiosity to determine who said this now famous line.  While I didn’t invest the time it would take to really dive in and research this project, I did “Google” it.  The findings are many, but the most popular point of origin was John Bradford, who was quoted as saying, “There but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford.” 

So, go out and love on God’s people.  And make no mistake about it…. we are all God’s people.  Love them during this holiday season and throughout the coming year.

This is not a challenge that I send out lightly.  I know that what I’m suggesting is not an easy task.  It’s easy to love some people.  Loving all people ….. not so much.  But it makes it easier when you remember that we all fall short of the glory of God.  In the flesh, we are all, at times, ugly, mean, selfish, hateful, insensitive, intolerant and broken. 

But thanks to a tiny baby born in a manger to a virgin long ago who later died on a cross as a living sacrifice for all of our sins, we can all be called worthy, cherished, a treasure, a child of the most high God. 

So, reach out and love someone.  Everyone.  Make it a point to be kind to someone who would stare you in the face and say, “Screw you!”  Maybe it’s just a smile or a touch.  Take a meal to someone or buy a beverage for a stranger.  Serve at a home for unwed mothers or a soup kitchen.  Send a text, a card, an email to lift the spirits of someone who needs to know someone loves them.  The possibilities are endless.  With the confidence of a Saint and the conviction of a Warrior, we can make a difference in the life of another soul.  Because as mama (and John Bradford) always said, “There but for the grace of God, go I.”