Beach Bombs

Growing Daily

Beach Bombs

It was my wife’s birthday yesterday and she wanted to spend the afternoon at the beach. We were having a beautiful, relaxing time — until a couple of guys started tossing a football nearby.

At first it was fine.  They were close together, just having fun.  But before long, they had drifted far apart, racing back and forth through crowds, launching passes as hard as they could.  Some missed their mark and dropped like bombs into the middle of other groups. 

What was fun for them was no fun for anyone else.

It’s surprising how quickly things can go wrong when people stop paying attention to how their actions affect others.  Even in our daily routines, we can get so absorbed in our own thing that we lose sight of the people around us.

Philippians 2:4 says, “Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.” 

Following Christ means learning to see beyond our own desires and preferences.  There’s nothing wrong with pursuing the things we enjoy, but our freedom shouldn’t come at someone else’s expense.  Being considerate is only part of it.  We’re called to genuinely care about the interests and well-being of others.

The tricky thing is it’s usually way easier to notice someone else’s annoying behavior than our own!

Today, ask God to help you be mindful of others so your energy becomes a blessing, not a burden.


- Ron Reid