This nail reminded me we are supposed to do good whenever we can, not whenever it’s convenient.
I was walking across my kids’ high school parking lot last week, when I came across a nail. I barely noticed it, as I was really hot and making a beeline for my car and to some sweet relief from air conditioning. I stepped right over it. My car was in sight. I was so close. But, a little voice in my head told me to go back and pick it up.
I tried to ignore it. It was sooooo hot. But, in my heart, I knew that little nail would plague me for the entire day. I grudgingly turned around and retrieved it. It was small and rusty and I put it in my pocket.
I drive in that parking lot fairly regularly. It could easily end up in my tire or in my daughter’s tire. But, I knew that wasn’t really the point.
The little voice convicting me to go back and pick up the nail was about doing what was right for everyone who might drive through that lot, not just the people who are close to me. The Holy Spirit was trying to teach me a lesson. I think maybe I got it, this time, even if it was with some resistance on my part.
It’s easy to do the right thing when we’re not stressed or in a hurry. Doing the right thing when it’s like a hundred degrees outside and all you want is to be indoors, is another. It’s also more difficult to do the right thing when we are tired, or funds or low, or when we are angry or hurt.
It’s also easy to do the right thing when we are helping ourselves in some way. Are we more eager to write a check to help fund a building where our kids can have the ideal youth space or are we more willing to write a check to fund a building that will provide housing for people we have never met? That’s a tough one; isn’t it?
When Jesus called us to love our neighbors, there wasn’t a little set of parenthesis that said when we feel like it, or if we’re not too tired or stressed. He also didn’t mean to only love the people who share our DNA or the people we happen to call friends. He said our neighbors, period.
I’m guessing he meant any person who crosses our path. If we can help, we are supposed to. So, I picked up that nail and held onto it as a reminder. Don’t get me wrong, I probably miss the call to action way more than I get it, but that day, I got it.
I’m going to try to listen more closely. Maybe you will too.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂