There’s a reason a record has two sides.
Many DVDs do, also. Side A and Side B.
Each side has something special to offer. A record might offer a faster beat when we flip sides, or we might get a new song we haven’t heard on the radio. Either way, we don’t completely know the recording artist until we’ve experienced the music on both sides of the record.
DVDs often offer a wide-screen version or a director’s cut. If we only want the theatrical release, we’ve seen only half the intent envisioned by the filmmakers.
Life is a record played out from our viewpoint. What affects us is what motivates us to do this or that, go here or there, or form this relationship or that one.
That’s only one side of the record. What about the other guy, the people we interact with? They have a song playing out, one we can’t hear.
Matthew 7:12 says:
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
We are to imagine the songs we like, picture other people in our situation (or ourselves in theirs), and treat them accordingly.
In other words, if we were in their shoes, would we want to be around us? Would we like hearing what we’re saying to them? Would our treatment of them make us feel loved and appreciated?
It’s listening to both sides of the record, ours and theirs. That’s the only way to fully experience the joys of life.
It’s time to reset our expectations to include those around us.
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