How I have contempt for that sea of nameless, faceless humanity. That often blood-thristy, inconsiderate, and inconvenient throng. I drive along cursing and grumbling under my breath as they, without fail, try to drive me off the road with their rude and boorish antics. I fight through them and over them in supermarkets and department stores just to get a few simple items. They are everywhere. They cause me severe frustration and great anguish. I wish they would just go away and give me some peace. Cloying, that's what they are.I pray often and ask the Lord to help make me ever mindful of the needs of others. This notion and this spirit do not come to me naturally, thus I need to constantly pray for strength and replenishment. In Mark 12:31, Jesus told the people that one of his greatest commandments was "To love your neighbor as yourself". The apparent chasm between the instruction and declaration of Jesus and my own feelings and actions towards others causes me great concern.
How can I in one moment view those that surround me and fill up my world as rabble and in another moment pray for them and love them? It seems like I have lost comprehension that the people that are all around me are the ones that I am actually praying for and supposed to live in brotherhood with. The words of Mark 9:24 fill my thoughts, "I do believe but help my unbelief."
