GCC Blog

Are you ok? by Hayley Chipper

When was the last time you asked someone if they were OK?


Recently we have had R U OK day, and God used this opportunity to show me the importance of checking up on people regularly, not just on this particular day. Sometimes it is all too easy to just focus on ourselves and to forget that other people exist, or at least to forget that they have their own problems or issues. Sometimes we can get so caught up in taking care of ourselves that we forget about the person next to us.


Everywhere I looked on R U OK day I saw posters and ads reminding people to ask this question, giving them follow up questions to ask afterwards, and reminding people of the importance of looking out for their friends. This is all fantastic, but it got me thinking about every other day of the year. Do I really need a special day to tell me to treat people in this way? I know this day can be a really good reminder - but if I am honest with myself, how DO I treat people?

The writer of Hebrews says to be "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." Hb. 12:2. So looking to Jesus, what can He teach us about treating people..?

 

Jesus went out of His way to speak to people who were different, and who were clearly suffering. He didn't avoid the people that everyone else did.

 

  •     The Samaritan woman at the well, who was a social outcast with no friends or support in her community … Jesus spoke to her.
  •     The disciples – Peter, Andrew, James and John. They were fishermen. In their culture, they would have been looked down on, not welcome among the upper class. They would have smelt. They weren't educated. Jesus not only spoke to them but chose them to be His students.
  •     Matthew was a tax collector. He was hated by his own people. He was an outcast … Jesus spoke to him.

Another way to look at this is to picture yourself in the other person's shoes. What if you are not the one asking yourself how you should treat people, but instead are the person who is being mistreated by others? Have you ever felt like people were looking down on you? Have you ever walked into a situation and felt so different, and have known that people are avoiding speaking to you or being near you? Have you ever been struggling with a mental health issue, or some other personal issue, and felt like nobody cares?

 

If you have been in this situation, then most likely you will have wanted someone to come alongside you and just talk to you, to show an interest in you as a person – to ask if you are OK?
 

Maybe some of you can't relate to this. I don't know what other people have been through, but I can speak from my own experience. Personally, I struggle with anxiety. I have for as long as I can remember, but COVID has definitely made it that much worse. For those of you who don't know what this is like, let me describe it for you.

Anxiety is much more than excessive worry – this is just the tip of the iceberg. It is thinking you are having a heart attack (palpitations, chest pain, breathlessness, tightening throat). It is restlessness and not being able to sleep. It is a constant sense of foreboding and thinking about everything that could go wrong. It is always assuming that people will reject you. It is living in a state of constant exhaustion. And no, it isn't something you can choose to ignore or to just switch off.

But God is good! Through anxiety, He has taught me many things. The first is that He is good ALL the time. The second is that He can use me to help others. As Paul says …
    

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." 2 Co. 1:3-4

 

God is the God of all compassion. His heart is for us is to love those around us, just like He has loved us. He doesn't just love us as an end goal, but to achieve something much more.

 

    "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God … For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another … By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth." 1 Jo. 3:1, 11, 16

 

This is pretty clear. God doesn't just want us to say that we love people, but to show it with our actions. Asking someone if they are OK is just one part of this. So what else can love look like?

 

  • Love can look like spending time with people who are lonely or who are rejected by others. Keep an eye out for these people. Jesus ate with outcasts, so we should too, not being afraid of those who are different. (Read MARK 2:15-17)
  • Love can look like helping those who are disadvantaged in some way, not showing an attitude of superiority or having an "us and them" mentality, but treating all people with an equal sense of dignity, worth, value and respect. (Read 1 CORINTHIANS 12:22-25)
  • Love can look like seeing someone who has a need and meeting it if you are able to. (Read 1 CORINTHIANS 12:26)
  • Love can look like accepting people regardless of how wealthy they are, what they own, what they look like, where they live etc. It is treating everybody as equals. (Read JOHN 7:24 / JAMES 2:1-7)
  • Love can look like spending time with or talking to different people, not just your usual group or circle of people. Love is not showing favouritism. (Read ROMANS 2:11)
  • Love can look like giving equal opportunities to people regardless of their age, background or circumstances. (Read GALATIANS 3:28 / 1 TIMOTHY 4:12)
  • Love is sacrificing for the sake of others, whether that be time, money, possessions, effort, comfort etc. (Read JOHN 15:13)

 

Love is a powerful thing. It isn't just something to receive, but something to give as much as we are able to. After all, Jesus didn't just tell us to "love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind," but He also said to "love your neighbour as yourself." Mt. 22:37-40

 

Christianity's primary focus is love, towards God and towards others. So, how can you show the love of God to others today?
 

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