With a Cherry on Top!

So God recently brought me back to a verse that struck on of those spiritual nerves and you think, ouch that hurts! It’s one of those praise God and feeling of complete humiliation at the same time type of moments. Let’s take a look at Romans 12:10:

“10 Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor.”

First I want to break the first section down. In our society the structure of the family is crippling, so of course it’s hard to see the proper meaning of the first part. In Hebrew culture family has a much different meaning than it does in our day and age. Hebrew culture would sometimes consider cousins and cousins of cousins as brothers and sisters. To say you had a friend that was closer than a brother, means that was a really great friend. Of course there were squabbles and frustration as times, look at King David’s family history. All of that said, it means that to call someone outside of your family your brother or sister, better yet treat some one that way, probably meant the world to them!

The thing that God really beat me around with was a new idea that reflects on the second half of the verse. “Outdo one another…” I had a love/hate relationship with this phrase but came to love it when God reopened the thought the other day. When we talk about outdoing someone, we tend to put it in a way that could be derogatory to someone else. It can birth competition. Then God reminded me that there is healthy competition and unhealthy competition. What if we had a healthy competitive spirit that promoted showing honor to others?

I was like, “God what does that look like?” Then poof, came the idea. Have you ever said the phrase, “Pretty please, with a cherry on top?” God said, “Bryan I’m calling you to be the cherry on the top of someone’s ice cream! It doesn’t matter if someone is in a bad mood, or a good mood, I’m calling you to put them in a better mood than they were before because of the honor you give them!” Imagine what our lives would look like if they were full of people who where outdoing one another in showing honor or being the cherry on your ice cream. Imagine what your friend’s lives, your work atmosphere, your school setting, or your own family situation would look like if you followed this challenge.

My challenge is simple, as funny as it may sound, be the cherry on someone’s ice cream this week! Outdo me in showing honor to others.

I love you beloved.