Little acts of selflessness

Give, and it will be given to you … For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you (Luke 6:38 NKJV)

My son was playing an educational game on the computer when his sister demanded that he let her have a turn. His response was typical.  “I was here first!”

It got me thinking it’s a generally accepted principle of human society that those who “get there first” have more rights than those who get there after them. The first one to set foot on virgin land is entitled to take possession of it. The first one to strike gold or oil may claim it as his own.

In my children’s case, if one of them has been playing for half an hour at the computer, I tell him or her that it’s time to let the other one have a turn. But if we applied that principle to every aspect of society, there would be absolute chaos. Can you imagine a landowner saying, “I’ve had this plot of land for quite a while, so it’s time to let someone else enjoy it”?

This example is rather extreme, but what about little acts of selflessness? How often do you see people who have a seat on the bus or subway offering it to someone who has just boarded, simply because they look weary? Are little sacrifices like that too much to expect?

This giving, selfless kind of love is actually what God wanted for us all from the beginning—and His love can help us achieve it. If we would practice this kind of love, the world would be a different place. [1]

Just remember the world is not a playground but a schoolroom. Life is not a holiday but an education. One eternal lesson for us all: to teach us how better we should love." - Barbra Jordan

[1] Activated Here First