Ordinary Time

Pause

God’s standards are pretty high.

Each day presents a new choice – to follow the path of God or carve out your own.

Which will you choose?

Listen

You must not act unjustly in a legal case. Do not show favoritism to the poor or deference to the great; you must judge your fellow Israelites fairly. Do not go around slandering your people. Do not stand by while your neighbor’s blood is shed; I am the Lord. You must not hate your fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your fellow Israelite strongly, so you don’t become responsible for his sin. You must not take revenge nor hold a grudge against any of your people; instead, you must love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.

Leviticus 19:15-18

Think

Sometimes it’s hard to not be in awe of someone with money, power, or celebrity status. At the same time, sometimes we look to the rich as greedy and perhaps the reason others are poor. God calls us to a different path. We are to view both rich and poor (and everyone in between) as divine creations.

Recognizing God’s image in others means we can’t spread rumors and lie about people because we don’t like them – even if they did something wrong to us first. It’s easy to fall into the trap of retaliation, but that is not what God wants from us. Following God means letting go of status and money, and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.

Stacie Whalen

Pray

Loving God, allow me to see others the way you see them, as your image bearers. Let me remember that I shouldn’t prefer one group of people over the other but I should care for all as equals in you. Amen.

Go

Go recognizing God’s image in yourself and others.

Stand up for what is right; live your life in a way pleasing to God.

Be kind to everyone and let your actions speak louder than your words.