“It is essential for you to remember that the attention you give to any action should be in due proportion to its worth…” —Marcus Aurelius
In 1997, psychotherapist Richard Carlson published a book entitled, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff . . . and It’s All Small Stuff. It was a pretty good read, despite the fact that the title is untrue—at least in part. While it is indeed unwise to sweat the small stuff, it’s not all small stuff. Some things “matter”—a perspective Paul urges us to maintain (Philippians 1:10).
Not the least of these things is love—love for God and our neighbor. This is the Great Commandment, with the inference that love is not small stuff at all.
One thing we can do in this pandemic is learn to love one another for love grows best when it’s tested. Tensions rise and tempers flare as the days drag by. People doing ordinary, everyday things tend to rub us the wrong way. Family members and friends act and react in strange and foreign ways. It’s an ideal time to learn that love doesn’t alter when it alteration finds.
If you want to know what love looks like in a pandemic read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. If you want to “do” love, ask God for help because he’s where all the love in the world comes from.
Love is the greatest of all “the things that matter,” and the thing we’re going to be doing forever. We might as well get started right away.
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David Roper
8.22.20
