¹² “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

Matthew 7:12 [NLT]

So when it comes to the weekends, it is normally not uncommon to find me waking up around noon, slightly after noon, or even slightly before that. Since weekends happen to be the only days of the week where I could get more rest, so naturally, I wouldn’t want to wake up until I absolutely have to get up. So no alarms for the weekends.

I got up around 11.45 this morning, so I decided to take a shower, grab my lunch, and now I’m ready to move on with the rest of my day’s plans. There are a few things I hope to accomplish today, I really want it to be a fruitful and productive day for sure. So, you can see why it is so tempting for me to want to skip today’s Daily Bread routine. There’s a part of me that just wants to “get on with the day”.

But I am also being reminded that it was my initial abandoning of my faith that also led me to my recent downfall from grace. So perhaps, it’s always a good reminder to never abandon the efforts of my faith again.

For today’s daily bread, I want to focus specifically on our actions, and in the current context, I would say, MY actions. I’ve never thought about it this way before, at least not until I began this daily bread routine in 2018. By rereading the verse again, it made me realize that the verse didn’t promise us that by treating others with authenticity, or treating them the way we want to be treated, it promises that they would also do the same with us.

Recently, as I reflected on everything that I’ve experienced over the last few years, it’s again a reminder that the word of God is right. As I reflected even more about my own actions, and how I had behaved and my attitude towards others and towards the different situations that I’ve found myself in, I can’t deny the fact that I’ve been acting [in the hopes] in such a way, thinking that perhaps if I treated others with authenticity, if I’ve been genuine about my own intentions and agenda with others, that they would be able to respect that about me, and give me the same kind of respect in return.

After years of trying to do that, though I’ve never wanted to admit this until now, but I think there was a part of me that felt really jaded by how others have reacted to my authenticity, and my desire to be genuine towards them. I’ve always thought that people would appreciate that (being treated genuinely and with authenticity). So I based all of my attitude, behavior and actions upon that.

When others don’t respond in kind?? Frankly, I never dropped it. I never dropped the idea of wanting to be authentic and genuine. But it did get really exhausting and tiring, so yeah, perhaps I did end up being quite half-hearted in my efforts towards the very end (before deciding to recommit my life to God).

Perhaps reading this verse today was exactly what I needed today. A reminder that we are suppose to act a certain way because it is the right thing to do, and because we should be better people. Treat others better. It’s not because others will treat us the same. There’s no promises of that. Sure, there is always a chance that by seeing how we act, and how we treat them, those individuals may learn and come to realize that they should also do the same.

It is always so important to remember that the way we treat others by our actions, it’s not an act. It’s not something that we fake. We should be doing it and also meaning it in our hearts. It’s meant to be real. Like I’ve been saying, genuine.

People Can See You for Who You Are By Your Actions

In this very real world that we live in, I am also yet again reminded that our actions matter. Maybe at times, the immediate outcome is not so immediately obvious, but they do matter in the long-term scheme of things. Whether we realize it or not, our actions always has consequences, and those consequences/outcomes are liken to the fruits of a tree.

¹⁶ You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.

Matthew 7:16-17 [NLT]

It is so easy to some times forget that even though some of our actions don’t produce an immediate reaction/response from others, they could potentially have long-term effects on our relationships with them. What might appear like a harmless, casual remark today could one day be perceived as a racist remark. That is but one small example among so many examples that you can I can think of.

So, the question that I’m finally coming back to after so many years, is this, “How do we want others to look at us?” And I most certainly don’t just mean by our physical appearance. I’m talking about what others will say about us after we have turned out backs away from them. When they are behind closed doors, what would their opinion of us be? I’d say that all depends on our daily actions. How we choose to act, both privately and in front of others will ultimately determine the kind of person we will become (and how we will be known by others).

Personal Prayer for Today

Dear Father in Heaven,

Today’s word of the day might have been slightly unexpected, but I am nonetheless grateful that You have found a way to remind me of my actions, and the consequences of those actions (how I live).

Thank You for reminding me that how I choose to act and live everyday is in fact, have nothing to with how others might react, respond or treat me. At the end of the day, I can’t control what others might say, think or do. All I can control is my own.

Thank You for also reminding me that our genuine and authentic actions, behaviors will have long-term consequences and outcomes. Some of it might not be immediately obvious, but it doesn’t mean that I should stop being genuine and authentic towards others.

Just like in Your word, you have reminded me that our actions today will eventually bear fruits. How we act, how we behave and treat others will result in the kinds of fruits we want to bear. Be it positive or negative.

And Father God, I want nothing more than to bear good fruits, to be able to experience more positive outcomes.

I vow to give You all the praises. In Jesus’ name.

Amen.