I am struck by a fresh example of connecting principles and beliefs. A negative warning in the context of love provides the context. “If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see?” (1 John 4.20)
I have heard the saying for years, yet the reality of the positive is starkly powerful. It is easy to say words of love, service, and compassion. One can talk of values we hold, but without linked actions the rhetoric feels empty.
When someone that says “I am here to serve” and then puts it into action, you know it is real. Recently, an individual did not talk specifically about the team’s actions. The revelation came through between the lines and through the witness of others. They knew. We knew. Truth touches anyone near.
I knew the team is not perfect. They continue to learn from the outcomes of their choices. In good and bad, it is clear that they heart is focused on a shared goal. It reflects that best of service. Clients tangibly experience what service should be. Others in the community depending on service delivery know it is happening.
As I think of the lessons I walk away with, I know they include the following.
It is important to se what I am. If I can see, then I have an opportunity to take steps towards becoming what I want to be. Looking in the mirror is rarely easy. Honest reflection is the foundation for more.
Seeing reflection is more than a moment in time. Insight comes when one looks and wrestles with the details of life. What did I do? How did it touch others? Was there a link between my actions and my values? Is there anything I can learn from this?
Celebrate success. Revel in the good of life. In doing so, one discovers the strength to deal with what can be improved.
