"...let us consider how we may SPUR one another on toward love and good deeds." (Hebrews 10:24)
Okay, let me assure you that we don't need to literally go around spurring people. That will get us shot but we do need some love and good deeds in today's world. I am sure we have all seen how much anger and hate is around us. Every day we read stories where people pull out a gun and shoot someone over something very petty.
If there was ever a time that we needed some love and good deeds in the world, it is now.
The first part of the verse encourages us to consider how we may do this. That means we should purposely think of things we can do to urge people to be better. I have tried to be more purposeful when I am out in public to look for ways to be nice to people. It doesn't have to be a grand jester but just a simple act of courtesy can make a difference.
Acts of kindness are often contagious. If we are kind to others they are more likely to pay it forward and be kind to others as well.
People who ride horses often wear spurs on their boots to urge the horse to comply with their commands and train them on how to respond. We need to spur others to show love and do good deeds.
Hey, I get it. I go to the grocery stores and drive in the traffic too. I know it isn't always easy to spur anyone in a good way. People will act in ways that totally defy the laws of common sense or common courtesy. It often feels like that everyone is just out for themselves. It is often a challenge to resist falling into the defensive attitude around us. I have even been in church and the minute I drove out of the parking lot I have not had the desire of motivating others to doing good.
So why is it so hard for us to spur others to do good? Sometimes we get in a hurry and others just get in our way and slow us down. We need to slow down our pace a little and make the effort to leave a positive attitude wherever we go.
If someone does a good job for you, compliment them. We are way too eager to jump on someone who gets our order wrong or does less than what we expect. Encourage people. You never know how your word of encouragement might totally change someone's day.
Be patient. Wow, this is a hard one isn't it? Things aren't always going to go our way and people aren't always going to act the way we want them to act. Let's do a better job of being patient with others.
Sure, there are times we need to address bad behaviors but we must also look for opportunities to show mercy. Even then it is not always possible. My wife and I were in the checkout line of a grocery store one day when a woman standing behind my wife unexplainably bumped her out of the way to reach for a magazine. The woman never said "excuse me" or "I'm sorry". I jumped on the woman and fussed her out and she gave it back to me too. She clearly didn't take kindly to me calling out her rudeness and bad behavior. She would not stop and even topped it off with "have a blessed day." Yeah, that went well.
In every situation, we have a choice to make others bitter or better. It takes some practice - I'm still working on it myself - but we need to provoke others to become better by being better to them. People don't need you to quote them Bible verses or a Christian cliche, they need your kindness. A little spurring on our part will go a long way.
