I heard a story of a high school teacher who was trying to teach her students about how to understand one another.  She ask the students to write down the emotional baggage that they were dealing with. She told them to keep it anonymous. As they were shared the students were given great insight as to what others were going through.  It even brought tears to many as they realized that others were going through worse things than they were.

God has nudged His people over and over again to treat one another with dignity and show empathy. (Romans 12:15)  Even early in the history of Israel in the book of Leviticus, God pointed the Israelites toward empathy, especially in their dealings with foreigners.  He said to love them as themselves.

Sometimes the burdens we carry cause us to feel like we are  foreigners- alone- misunderstood even among our peers. God is calling us to treat all those God's sends our way with respect, dignity, and empathy.  We live in a hurting world and we are all going through stuff. As we reach out to others and treat them with the love, empathy, respect and dignity that we would want, God is honored.

I encourage you today to love others like you love yourself.  People need a hug, a smile, a helping hand, or a shoulder to cry on. Honor God by honoring others.

    `