I'm a people watcher. I like doing that. But it can be disappointing sometimes. It's very clear that the standard mode of thinking for just about everyone is "Me." Think about it.
You're shopping in a grocery store, pushing a cart, gathering what you need. You find the area of something you need and start searching for a particular thing. Do you think, "I'll put my cart here, where it's most convenient for me," or do you think, "I'll put my cart over here, where it's out of other people's way"? I'm driving down the road, and the light is red up ahead, and I'm hoping to get to the left turn lane before the left turn light turns green, but the guy in front of me is slowing. Is he thinking, "I'm watching the traffic around me, trying to make the driving experience for those around me more pleasant" or is he thinking, "Hey, the light is red ... I don't have to hurry"? You're having a discussion with your spouse and they aren't giving you what you think they should. Are you thinking, "They're not giving me what I need" or are you wondering, "Am I giving them what they need?"
It's such an easy, natural thing. A fellow I knew was excited about the woman he hoped to marry. "I think she'll bring all sorts of good things to my life." "But," I asked him, "will you bring all sorts of good things to her life?" We just don't often think down those lines. We're better at, "I don't like that; I wish they wouldn't do that to me" than "What do I like ... I want to go do that for others." Thinking about what I need is easy. Looking around and finding what people need in order to supply it isn't as easy. And, yet, it's our calling. "Love your neighbor as yourself."
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