Considerate

​Two exhausted, firemen came into a diner around 6 a.m. after working tirelessly for 12 hours to put out a fire. Liz Woodward took their order and just happened to overhear the two firefighters discussing their tiresome battle.  Later, when Tim and Paul went to pay for their breakfast, their bill contained this message: 
Your breakfast is on me today—thank you for all that you do; for serving others and for running into the places everyone else runs away from.  No matter your role, you are courageous, brave, and strong.  Thank you for being bold and badass everyday.  Fueled by fire and driven by courage.  What an example you are.  Get some rest.—Liz

As the two men read the message their eyes filled up with tears.  Emotionally, they thanked the kind waitress for her warm gesture.  But the story doesn’t end there.  The men somehow learned that Liz’s father, Steve, is a quadriplegic, paralyzed for 5 years.  Liz had set up a donation page to fund a wheelchair accessible vehicle so that she could take her father places.  Tim urged people on Facebook to donate to Liz’s crowd-fund: “Turns out, the young lady who gave us a free meal is really the one that could use the help...”  Amazingly, in a couple of days $70,000 was donated.    Liz and her family couldn’t be more grateful to Tim and Paul.  “All I did was pay for their breakfast.  I didn’t expect anything more than a smile,” says the waitress.  “It goes to show that you just have to be kind to each other and that even the smallest gesture can change a life.”
 
Meditation
Proverbs 11:25—A generous person will be enriched, and the one who gives a drink of water will receive water.
 
Imagine what would happen in our world if each of us chose to be considerate! There would be no wars on a kind earth. Conflict would defuse beneath the thoughtful application of love.  Jesus designed such a world.  He even modeled what it looked like to live a considerate life—healing the sick, feeding the hungry, caring for the despised, and putting other’s needs before His own. Unfortunately, His perfect example was pierced five times by contempt.  His quiet understanding felt the cutting pain of thorns administered by the inconsiderate. His enemy, Satan, built violence into the very soul of man beginning with Cain murdering Abel.  When Adam and Eve rebelled, God’s considerate world became a bully’s playground.  

Our best conduct as believers to model redemption is not to fight fire with fire but to smother it with Living Water.  To be considerate is to carefully regard another’s feelings, circumstances or needs.  It is marked by love demonstrated through thoughtful, prudent concern.  It is the gospel message.  It is the natural extension of hope.  It means we are willing to be trampled upon by rude people because God will lift us up in the end.  We swallow our pride to feed others compassion and empathy.  “Who gives a drink of water will receive water”—something to think about . . . in reveration!
 
Inspiration
Courteousness is consideration for others; politeness is the method used to deliver such considerations.—Bryant H. McGill
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©2018 Daniel York  ARR. Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  If you would like to receive these devotionals go to www.firstcause.org and click on the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.      
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)