What motivates me to be otherfocused? Well, what's the alternative? Right? We can have a culture of having, taking, or we can be part of a culture of giving. To be other focused, I believe, is to live in the image of God whom in whom we are created. So my sense of the image of God is God is one who always generates whose love is always being poured out who's whose gifting constantly of himself. And if I'm made in the image of God, it isn't just about fingers and toes and eyeballs, which we don't even really know if that's the image that we were created in, but we were created in an image of giving and receiving.
So that there is also communion and relationship, right? So in the trinitarian sense, in the Christian trinity, you have a father, son, holy spirit. You have a communion, you have you have relationship, right? I like to think of it like this. When I am in a good relationship with people, I actually I'm pretty peaceful. Life is nice. It's easier to smile. There is a sense of um a joy that's more spontaneous. I would say that's kind of like heaven.
When I am not in good relationship with people, when there's conflict and division, when there's um you know, hardfelt feelings towards someone, things inside can be kind of dark and heavy, painful, maybe even make excuses for my behavior or for my attitude like, "Oh, they wronged me and therefore I'm going to hold a grudge on them." To me, that's like hell, right? we find ourselves more easily I think in the kingdom of heaven when we stand with an attitude of what can I give what what can I give today sometimes it's just patience um sometimes oftentimes at home it's just like you know uh honey I forgot to you know turn off the water of the plants outside can you go do that for me and it's to say yeah I I do that for you.
My older self would have been like, "Oh man, why didn't she remember to turn off the water herself?" Right? And what would happen if I did that? All of a sudden, that relationship with her would have a bitter thorn entered into it and then I would maybe become resentful and it would break down the the joy and the happiness. Whereas if I take an attitude of this is an opportunity for me to give, it would make her happy.
It would be of service. I go and I do I come back. Didn't cost me anything. And the relationship between us remains harmonious and peaceful and um and she sees that I love her. Right? So, so if we believe in love then and we believe that love changes everything and it does. The love that changes everything is not just a sentimental feeling of love because that's kind of narcissistic actually, but it's a concrete love with our muscles and we and and and it's a giving kind of love even when we especially when we don't expect to or don't receive anything in return, but we've loved for the sake of loving.
And so ultimately what motivates me to to to give and to love is because I believe that's the image of God that I was made in. Right? If I want to be connected to God who gives. If I want to have a relationship with God who gives, then I also have to be a giver. Right? And it also helps me to be relationship in a good positive relationship with with those in my life.
