Lent
I am beginning to suspect that when my brother's sins become burdensome to me, his humor tiring and his idiosyncrasies overwhelming, the Christian question is not, "how can I help him not to annoy the hell out of me," but rather, "how can I love well this person who annoys the hell out of me?"
That's all.
Comments
11 comments:
Very good question, Kyle. A group of us discussed this concept last night at New Roots. It's a heck of a challenge to love someone who is burdensome and even hurts you but it's well worth the effort to take time and find out where they're coming from. When someone pisses me off - esp during Lent - I feel it's an ideal time to consider if it's as much about me as about them. Do they reflect parts of myself that I don't like? Do they show up stuff in me that isn't loving?
It would be great if those brothers helped us to see further into ourselves and further teach us to love.
Am I the person that annoys the hell out of you?
If not, I must try harder (joke)
If yes, you have done well at loving me.
Definitely the latter question. And one more annoying one: What can I do to allow myself to be transformed into one who is not so annoyable? One step deeper I reckon. God help us to be on that road.
wow, this is timely for me, b/c it seems as though everyone is annoying me right now, so thanks for the thoughts to reflect on!
I find myself stymied by this question at times.
To follow Alan's lead:
What about: "What can I do to become a loving person and not just a person who loves?"
That one gets me, too.
And so Captain Sacrament grew daily in wisdom and righteousnes....
Seriously man, that is an awesome question. Thanks for a little bit of an "ouch," and making me think.
Something interesting to think about, especially during Great Lent.
Your post reminds me of the Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian, in some ways.
BTW, I'm a friend of your sister; she sent me the link to your blog.
You should answer my messages. =D
Good post man. Pray for me, I'm gonna be back in the hospital.
Oh, gosh... Now I have to think deeply about this... ;-)
Maybe an even better question is "how can WE love well this person"
I've found, at least for me, that it's more effective to love people in community. I think that sometimes when I can't take a single second more it's okay to let someone else step in for a bit. Basically I need other people to help me love. My hope is that somehow, together, we incarnate a somewhat more complete picture of love to that person. My "annoying" friends need more than what I alone can give.
Good thoughts, folks, I'm glad you appreciated this entry.
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