Stumbling Around

Scripture: 1 John 2:9 – “Whoever says, ‘I am in the light,’ while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness.” (NRSV)

Did you ever have a day where one bad thing just led to another and another? These are the days where you get out of bed and step on a Lego in the dark, and then you are distracted by the pain so your coffee spills and you must get redressed, and then you are late for work, and then you forget to read a memo, and later you yell at a friend or a family member for something they did not really do. And then they get defensive, and do some other thoughtless action, and the pattern just continues and continues. It reminds me of the old poem:

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.

For want of a shoe the horse was lost.

For want of a horse the rider was lost.

For want of a rider the message was lost.

For want of a message the battle was lost.

For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.

And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

One little thing starts a cascade that leads to ruin. In our little story, just turning on the light before stepping on that Lego might have turned your whole day around.

As you may guess, I am not actually talking about turning on the lights in your home, but rather using light as a metaphor for our love for God and others. Shocking, I know. We often talk about being in the light of God and of heaven as a place of endless love and light which shines down upon the righteous. But what does this divine “light” really look like? The First Letter of John claims that being in the “light” is not about knowledge or even faith, but rather loving action in the world. It is our love of our neighbor that is our light, and our hatred of one another that keeps us blind and stumbling around in our lives.

Our mistrust or annoyance at others can cause the same ripple effect as that painful Lego jolt. A mean word or thoughtless action figuratively blinds us to the suffering of others, and instead of soothing others, we just irritate them, paying forward the callousness of our past. We think that if someone was a jerk to me, I can be a jerk to them. An eye for an eye. And as the saying goes, “An eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind.”

So, turn on the light in your life. Show some kindness, empathy, and compassion toward others. Stop and reconsider your feelings when you feel like one thing after another is leading you towards frustration. Stop, pray, and love. You’ll be surprised how often that makes the world a brighter place.

Prayer: God, help me to see the light of your truth by loving others. Amen.