Hello Bridgeway,
Lately, I have been rereading the old classic of C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity in my leisure time. Even though the book was written more than seventy years ago, it still speaks to many modern people. This was the case for me when I came across the book section where C.S. Lewis talks about loving your neighbor. He writes,
“The rule for all of us is perfectly simple. Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him…” (emphasis added, p.131)
This statement was surprising for me. As the pastor of Care Ministry, sometimes I wonder whether my intention was sincere and genuine in my service. How authentic was my heart? I searched the internet to see if anyone else had pondered this section of the book. I found many articles, but I enjoyed reading Brad Hambrick’s C.S. Lewis on “Fake It Until You Make It.” It stirred in me personal reflections.
What am I learning? I am learning again about what it means to give care and love to someone through my ministry. Caregiving is doing what is right and the best for the person in care. Our feelings are important, but they may come and go. And those feelings are only secondary in importance to doing what is suitable for the person.
Just like many of you, there are times when I am overwhelmed by my work. When that happens, it is time to slow down and take a rest. Was my love real? Was it good? Have I done enough? The answers to these questions are not always clear and straightforward. But I am learning and asking different kinds of questions now: “Have I done the right thing and the best thing for the person today?”
So, I am willing to try what C.S. Lewis recommends: “Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did [and] when you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him/her.” Really? I hope this works.
“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us.” (1 John 4:11-12, ESV)