The act of love

“Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
I will, with God's help.” (Book of Common Prayer, 305)

This particular part of the Baptismal Covenant receives a lot of attention because this is where the rubber meets the road. This is the place where others see our faith acted out. This promise reminds us that love is a verb and it requires action.

Cast of Mister Rogers's Neighborhood
Credit: PBS PressRoom
Mr. Rogers showed an entire generation what this outward demonstration of love looked like in practice. The show "Mister Rogers Neighborhood" featured all different sorts of people from all different types of backgrounds. He treated each guest with respect and quiet dignity. All of this respect he gave to others came from his deep faith and belief in God's presence in each person. So he used that faith to teach. He gave children a place where they could learn to control their emotions rather than allowing those emotions to control them. Each child that watched knew that they had a place where they belonged and were special just the way God had made them. This means that each person that Fred Rogers met left feeling that they were an important and loved person. This is our call as Christians.

Each person we meet is a child of God who deserves kindness and respect. We are expected to treat each person as if they are the most important person in the world and this must come from the heart. I am not talking about being nice to someone you meet and then turning around and making fun of them or being disrespectful after they leave. This promise is about how we treat other both when we meet them and we walk away from them. Who do we make fun of? To whom are we rude? Who get our respect and who get treated poorly? This is about a change of heart not just being nice.

I invite you to take a few minutes today to examine when you are not living into this promise. Was it because you were tired or sick? Was it because you allowed your judgments about the person to control the interaction? Or did you allow your emotions to control a situation?

Take a few minutes, to consider how you can demonstrate love to those you come in contact with today. What does love looks like? 

Conversation Starters:
  • What does respect look like?
  • What does it mean to “respect the dignity” of another? 
  • What does it look like when we don’t “respect the dignity of another?
  • How does dignity change a person?
  • How can we show love and respect to another person in our daily lives?

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