Loving and Giving

My dad was not a lazy person, in fact the old nursery rhyme that gave certain attributes to people depending on what day they were born supports the fact that he, “worked hard for a living.” I, on the other hand, was born on a Friday and the nursery rhyme for those so blessed, says that we are, “loving and giving.”

Try as I might, I could never quite win arguments that being born on a Friday was best. My parents, my dad too, were certainly encouraging of the idea that Friday’s child, in fact all people, should be loving and giving. But there seemed to be some sort of engrained idea that working hard was far better than all the days, except maybe Wednesday’s child who was, “full of woe.”

More often than I care to mention, I feel that I fail at living up to the rhyme’s view that I ought to be loving and giving. And besides, I don’t put much stock in suck things. What I do believe is that we can have a tremendous influence on the people around us.

For example, as a preacher I could dwell on our sin and need for repentance. It’s awfully easy to see the flaws in ourselves and others. Such a narrative destroys us. Neither should we be unrealistic, but there is an abundance of negativity in the world.

I therefore focus on the Good News of Jesus Christ, who has at the core of his story the understanding that we are worthy of God’s salvation. Why else would God send a Saviour, if we were worthless?

Let’s keep reminding ourselves that we are worthy of God’s love. And, once and a while, when the negative voices get too loud, it becomes necessary for us to say it to one another. “You are worthy of God’s love.”

There’s no shame, in a world that encourages widespread negativity, to be loving and giving. These are attributes we should encourage in one another, no matter what day we were bone on. “You are loving and giving.”