STOP TELLING PEOPLE HOW MUCH YOU LOVE THEM!

A Powerful Combination that Will Boost Your Impact

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Nearly twenty eight years ago, this summer, I was nearly killed in a motorcycle accident.  Here’s the thought that occurred to me at the time and here’s what I’ve learned since.

I was getting onto the Northway at Exit 9 in Clifton Park, heading south.  Being seventeen years old, I was traveling along at a pretty good clip.  Getting ready to merge with traffic, I looked over my left shoulder and got ready to duck in behind a dually pick-up.  The problem was I didn’t see it was towing a pop-up camper. OUCH!  Yep, I hit the road doing around 70 m.p.h….wearing shorts, sneakers, and a helmet.  BTW, I only chose the picture to the left because I loved it.  It actually has nothing to do with the post as far as I know.  🙂

When my world finally stopped spinning and sliding, I had some major road rash in the form of third degree burns.  But up until that point, I’ll always remember the thought I had as my whole life up until that point flashed before my eyes!  What I remember clearly thinking is this….I wish I’d told more people how much I loved them.

I write this today, celebrating my 45th Birthday.  Although all this time has passed, it’s something I’m still working on.  Since then, I’ve learned there is something even more important than telling people you love them.  You need to tell and show them.

You learned about the concept of Show and Tell in Kindergarten.  Whoever thought of this idea was a genius!  For the uninitiated, education actually took place before Common Core.  You brought an object to school and stood before the class.  Then, you showed the object to your class mates and talked about it.  It was a wonderful concept.  However, as we all got older, somewhere along the way we started depending on our powers of explanation and stopped demonstrating.

How about you?  Life is short, and the last thing people will remember you for is the house you lived in or your salary?  What they’ll remember most about you is how much you loved them.  So, are the people you truly care for hearing you love them or are they also seeing it?  Are you SHOWING and TELLING?  Someone once said, “Even a blind man knows when the sun is shining!”

The thing about love is it doesn’t always feel good.  It’s not always fun doing the dishes at 10:00 at night after you’ve worked all day.  There are things you’d rather be doing.  That being said, love is not always convenient.  But unless you go through the pains of showing people how much you love them, you’re words will only take you so far.  People eventually get very frustrated and discouraged when there is a proclamation of love and no demonstration.  SHOW and TELL.

When it comes to the gospel, there are some people today who believe we should show and not tell.  Others are very good at not showing, but telling.  Miracles occur when we SHOW and TELL.

Love will cost you more than breath, it will cost you time, energy, money, strength and more.  Why?  Because love is more than words, it’s a demonstration.  In the words of a wise mentor, “People can’t see our hearts.”  God, for example, didn’t just say “I love you!”, he showed his love.  John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but everlasting life.”  God displayed his love on the cross for all the world to see, and his love has been transforming people for centuries.

I don’t know about you, but I’m glad I’ve been given a second chance to show the world God’s love.  Up until that point, all I knew about love was that it gave you the warm fuzzies.  Several years later I came to know love on a much deeper level when he came into my life in the person of Jesus Christ.

My challenge today is to go out and show someone how much you care.  You can do it however you choose, in the form of a phone call or  a text, you may even have the opportunity to sit down with them.  But whatever you do, SHOW and TELL.

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