Doing My Part

Most of the time I feel certain that if it weren’t for other people, all of us would have a much stronger Christian walk. If that guy hadn’t cut me off, I wouldn’t have cursed at him; I’d have no problem forgiving that friend of mine if she hadn’t done such a horrible thing to me; I would easily be able to love and respect people if they didn’t act so stupid. Maybe that sounds obvious or ridiculous, but really, isn’t that how we think?

Two years ago, a speaker at a ladies’ retreat I attended talked about this propensity we have to lay the blame for our own behavior on others. She said that since we can’t control what other people do or say or think, our only concern in all things should be that we do our part. Fundamentally, her lesson was pretty much the same as “turn the other cheek,” but for some reason, the way she put it really resonated with me, and it helped me better apply that principle to the situations in which I often find myself.

For instance, if someone at my job makes a bad decision that ends up costing me a lot of extra time and effort that could have been avoided, that doesn’t make it OK for me to fume over it or to be wrathful toward that person. My job is to do my part, and my part only—which is to do my work “heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” God won’t hold me accountable for my colleague’s actions, but neither will he weigh those actions heavily when judging the rightness or wrongness of my behavior.

If I hear that someone at church disagrees with my idea of appropriate church dress, that doesn’t make it OK for me to take pains to wear what they don’t like just to make a point. C.S. Lewis would call that uncharitable behavior, and I believe Christ would, too. My job is to do my part, which is to give fair consideration to that person’s objections and then to shut up and love them as God commands, regardless of whether we agree.

Say a prayer for me that in all things I can concentrate on doing my part, and nothing more.