FāVS News News and Commentary about Religion and Ethics in Eastern Washington and North Idaho
Ask An Evangelical: Living Out Faith in Daily Life
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How do you live out your faith in daily life?
First, I see two primary components of daily life where my faith can be lived out; self and others; and in both areas, the common ingredient that should characterize my day to day existence is love. Why ‘love’, some might wonder?
In the Bible, Jesus is asked to share the greatest commandment in the Law. His questioner was likely talking about the “decrees found in the first five books of the Bible.” He started by saying, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.”
Since the questioner asked for the greatest (singular) commandment, you’d think that would have ended his answer, but it didn’t. He continued, saying, “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
He elevated loving our neighbor, as we also love ourselves, to loving God. In other words, if an action isn’t of love, it shouldn’t happen if you claim to love and follow God.
At first, that doesn’t sound too hard. The people living on either side of me probably qualify as neighbors, and maybe one or two across the street. So, my ‘loving’ doesn’t have to extend out very far. Unfortunately for those charged with loving, the idea of neighbor in the Bible is much more extensive. Basically, if you know them or they exist, the term neighbor fits.
I’ve done things, with intent or without realizing it, that have hurt my wife, our kids, and probably most every other ‘neighbor’ I know. But I’m learning and, hopefully, making the decision to love more as I mature spiritually.
Some of my articles on Spokane FaVS have detailed ways I’ve learned how to ‘love’ that could be good examples for some to follow so here’s a list you might want to check out…
- How and When to Speak Up
- Avoid Being Deceitful
- Be Careful When Joking
- Give Others Your Attention
- Love Unconditionally
Scott McIntyre is glad his parents didn’t name him Vladimir or he’d be listed last on this page. While a long time California resident, he was the Oakland Spirituality Examiner for Examiner.com from 2011-12 and about the same time began blogging on several topics. The first, teaching Christians how to lovingly share their spiritual beliefs, emphasized skills that can benefit all forms of one-to-one interaction. He also writes on marriage, travel, downsizing, humor and the motive behind people’s words and actions. After retiring in 2016, Scott embarked on some major ‘R & R’ — Relocating and Rebranding. Following in his sister’s footsteps from the early 80’s, and later in the decade, his parent’s, Scott left the Golden State to become a Washingtonian in a small town just west of Spokane County.
