Let’s try a little love experiment.  Be honest with yourself in answering these questions

1. You are driving to Costco, it’s a Saturday morning. You pull into the parking lot and it is packed. Looking for any open space, you drive around in circles. Suddenly you noticed someone is backing out of a space near the entrance. Another car is racing to the parking space the same time as you… A. Do you cut them off and pull into the space. B. Do you let them have the space knowing that another one will come available.

2. You decide to meet your friend at the park to walk/run together. You see a homeless person sitting on a bench clearly in need. A. Do you offer them something, a meal, money, kind word etc or B. Do you keep walking and pretend you don’t notice them telling yourself not my problem

3. You are waiting in a long line at the grocery store, it’s Super Bowl weekend. An elderly lady gets in line behind you with less than 10 items. A. Do you impatiently stay  in line waiting to check out because you’ve got things to do before the party. B. Offer to let her go ahead of you because she only has a handful of items.

4. You are driving home from work, it’s Friday and has been a very long week. Traffic is backed up on top of it. Then you see a car broken down, inside the car are a mother and child. People are honking for her to get out of the way. A. Do you pull over and offer help B.Do you keep driving and tell yourself not my problem

5. You have worked hard for what you have. You are able to take care of yourself and your family, even go on some vacations enjoy the finer things in life. There is a single mother at your church who can’t always make ends meet. She works and does her best but doesn’t have anything extra at the end of the month. A. Do you make an anonymous donation B. Do you make a donation but let her know it came from you. C. Don’t care, not your problem

6. Your friends moving and has rented a moving company to assist. He needs someone to be at his new place when the cable company arrives while he finishes up at his old place. A.Do you offer to meet them on his behalf B. Just brush past it when he mentions it in the conversation because you have things to do

7. You see trash on your morning walks consistently. A. Do you tell yourself not my problem B. Do you pick it up as you can.

8. One of your parents was not nice to you growing up, in fact they were abusive. Now you are an adult. A. Do you treat them now how they treated you as a kid  B. Do you show them love and respect even though they did not to you.

9. You have an argument with someone you love. You both see things differently. A. Are you hell bent ( pride) on being right no matter what the cost. B. Do you apologize and try to understand how they feel and think.

10. Do you honestly prefer things your way or do you prefer others over yourself

We all have a desire in us to not only be good but do good. But we also have a flesh that wants us to be selfish and self centered. God takes it very personally when we mistreat people for our own selfish gain. Not meeting a need that we can meet is mistreating people. Mercy triumphs over judgment. There is nothing more powerful than to have an attitude of a servant ( I’m not too good to do anything that needs to be done). There will be rewards for what we do in this life ( based on pure motives). If you are only helping the rich then that is an impure motive and will not be rewarded for it. They only way one can truly be happy is if they get their mind off of themselves and get out there and do something for someone else. That is how God designed us.  Ask God today, what can I do for you?

xo