Pastor Rick Warren
Listen Archives Podcast Watch on Lightsource.com More...
If You Want to be Kind, Open Your Eyes - Daily Hope with Rick Warren - July 19, 2017
If You Want to Be Kind, Open Your Eyes
By Rick Warren
"Look out for the good of others" (1 Corinthians 10:24b NCV).
Kindness always begins with the eyes — the way you observe the world and are sensitive to the needs of other people.
In Luke 10:33b, it says of the Good Samaritan, "When he saw [the man's condition], his heart was filled with pity" (GNT).Notice that "he saw." That is the starting point. If you want to learn to be a kinder person, you've got to change the way you look at the world. You've got to become more observant of the needs around you.
Hurry is the death of kindness. If you're going to learn to be a kinder person, you've got to slow down! When you're always distracted with other things, you don't have time to be kind.
If you were to take a cross-country trip, there are several ways you could get from one side to the other. A plane would get you there fastest, but you wouldn't see much of the country. You could take a train or even a car, and both would give you opportunities to see even more. But if you really wanted to take in as much as possible, you'd walk.
That's because the slower you go, the more you see.
The Bible says, "Look out for the good of others" (1 Corinthians 10:24b NCV). The first step to kindness is to ask God to give you spiritual radar to be on the lookout for people around you who are hurting emotionally, spiritually, and physically.
Maybe you were born with this gift. You automatically sense when people around you are in need. It's not that you're more spiritual than the rest of us. You're just wired that way. If that doesn't describe you, then you're like me: You have spiritual ADD. It's easy to get distracted. It's easy to be task-focused. It's easy to not be sensitive to what's happening around you.
But if you care, you'll be aware. Galatians 6:8 says, "The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others — ignoring God! — harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds!" (The Message).It's not always easy to see the needs of other people, especially when they're on the other side of the road. But it's the starting point of kindness.
PLAY today's audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>
Talk It Over
What are some intentional ways you can slow your life down so that you can more easily see the needs of people around you?
What people do you pass every day who are sometimes more difficult to notice? When you keep your eyes open, what new opportunities do you see to help one of those people?
How is ignoring the needs of others also ignoring God (Galatians 6:8)?
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
40 Days of Love Study Kit
Learn to love like Jesus!
Pastor Rick wants to show you what it really means to love others like Jesus with his six-session study kit, 40 Days of Love.
With a teaching DVD and study guide workbook, 40 Days of Love is a powerful resource for personal study or small groups.
40 Days of Love is our thank-you for your gift to share the hope of Christ through Daily Hope. Please request your copy when you give below.
Thank you for your support – and may 40 Days of Love guide you closer to Jesus, as you learn to love like Him!
This devotional © 2017 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.
About Pastor Rick's Daily Hope
Everyone needs hope. Pastor Rick's Daily Hope shares a meaningful message from Scripture, practical and applicable, to encourage, equip and train people to fulfill God's purposes for their life. Listen M-F for your daily hope! www.Pastorrick.com
About Pastor Rick Warren
Pastor Rick Warren is passionate about teaching people to learn, love, and LIVE the Word! Through the Word, he believes people can attack what he calls the five "Global Goliaths" – spiritual emptiness, egocentric leadership, extreme poverty, pandemic disease, and illiteracy/poor education. Pastor Rick founded Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, which has grown to over 25,000 members, and has more than 300 ministries to groups such as prisoners, CEOs, addicts, single parents, and those with HIV/AIDS.
Pastor Rick's mission is to provide Daily Hope to listeners through sound Biblical teaching, and he plans to mobilize believers to reach the 2,900 remaining tribes that have not received the Gospel of Jesus. His latest book, The Purpose Driven Life, is about the purpose we find in following Christ, and is the best-selling hardback book in American history, according to Publisher's Weekly.
Contact Pastor Rick's Daily Hope with Pastor Rick Warren
E-mail: dailyhope@pastorrick.com
Website: http://www.PastorRick.com
Daily Hope Ministries
PO Box 80448, RSM, CA 92688