Love Appropriately

"So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. 

Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God." Phil 1:9-11

Learn to love appropriately. 

Wednesday afternoon, Kate texted me the verse above. I quickly read the verse at work on my lunch and then forgot about it. You see, Wednesday was not the greatest day for me at work. If you do know me well, you know I stink at putting boundaries up with people. In my mind, being the 'acts of service' person I am, by bending over backwards for people I am serving them and loving them. I'm being the 'good little Christian girl' I was raised to be. I serve people as Christ serves the church. 

Don't get me wrong, serving people and loving people through a helping hand is not bad. However, God calls us to love appropriately. It's up to us to determine what that level of appropriateness is. A great example of this in my own life is my work life. I would do anything for my managers, coworkers or owners. I have this value ingrained in me that even if it means working non stop and putting the needs of my work above the needs of my own. But when God tells us to love appropriately he doesn't mean bend over backwards and drain yourself. He wants us to use logic and our brains, given by Him, to determine how we should love that person in the situation. At work, I need to put up better boundaries about when I can work, how late I can stay, and what is and isn't part of my job description, rather than just trying to be in control of everything. By doing so, I am setting a precedent for my fellow coworkers and anyone else who get hired on in that role. Not every person is wired the way I am, and it would not be right for management to expect someone to be just like me. There needs to be a 'normal' job description and boundaries in place. For everyone's sake. More to come later, but just wanted to share a little bit of my heart tonight. 

So challenges for the week... 

• What does loving appropriate look like in different areas of my life? work, friends, family, etc
• What are boundaries I need to put into place in my life? with work, friends, family, etc