Lately, it seems that I have been hearing a lot of complaints from people about other Christians. How rude and disrespectful they can be...or how unloving and ungrateful they seem. Some blame it on the state of the economy ... or where they are in their walk with Christ.

As we know this behavior isn't just in the church, you watch the news and see all the senseless crime - random lives being taken, children being abused, elderly people being taken advantage of and it's all very heartbreaking.

All of this got me thinking about a particular scripture that says:

"Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels." Hebrews 13:1 -2

One thing I am confident of is that if one KNEW they were in the presence of angels, there would be a serious attitude shift taken place. I think we can all agree that we would be on our best behavior around and towards that angel. I mean, who would dare purposely mistreat an angel right ...??

So perhaps if we took that scripture to heart, and treated EVERYONE we come in contact with as though they could possibly be an angel, a major shift would still take place.

You would see people showing genuine love and respect for their family, their neighbors, the clerk at the grocery store, the bank teller, our supervisors, our employees ... even the conversations with the bill collectors would flow a lot more smoothly.

Wouldn't this change of mindset put us a little closer to being in line with Christ and the way He treated people? He didn't look down on anyone or treat one person as a lesser being over another.

Would one be able to abuse another if they were treating them as though they may be an angel? Would one fly off the handle and cuss out a co-worker if they were treating them as though they may be angel?

How would our relationships with our spouses, our children, our families change if we treated them as though they may be an angel?

Just a thought ... a thought worth giving a try ... even if they are not angels, I believe you will create a more peaceful environment around you ... and you can't lose there!

Founder and president of The Master Plan, Tanya James is the author of From Promiscuity to Proverbs 31: Getting Off the Fence of Sexual Immorality. For more information about Tanya, log onto www.armedanddangerous.biz or www.themasterplan.biz. *Tanya James is a 2009 StreamingFaith.com Guest Columnist.

© Tanya James all rights reserved

Lately, it seems that I have been hearing a lot of complaints from people about other Christians. How rude and disrespectful they can be...or how unloving and ungrateful they seem. Some blame it on the state of the economy ... or where they are in their walk with Christ.

As we know this behavior isn't just in the church, you watch the news and see all the senseless crime - random lives being taken, children being abused, elderly people being taken advantage of and it's all very heartbreaking.

All of this got me thinking about a particular scripture that says:

"Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels." Hebrews 13:1 -2

One thing I am confident of is that if one KNEW they were in the presence of angels, there would be a serious attitude shift taken place. I think we can all agree that we would be on our best behavior around and towards that angel. I mean, who would dare purposely mistreat an angel right ...??

So perhaps if we took that scripture to heart, and treated EVERYONE we come in contact with as though they could possibly be an angel, a major shift would still take place.

You would see people showing genuine love and respect for their family, their neighbors, the clerk at the grocery store, the bank teller, our supervisors, our employees ... even the conversations with the bill collectors would flow a lot more smoothly.

Wouldn't this change of mindset put us a little closer to being in line with Christ and the way He treated people? He didn't look down on anyone or treat one person as a lesser being over another.

Would one be able to abuse another if they were treating them as though they may be an angel? Would one fly off the handle and cuss out a co-worker if they were treating them as though they may be angel?

How would our relationships with our spouses, our children, our families change if we treated them as though they may be an angel?

Just a thought ... a thought worth giving a try ... even if they are not angels, I believe you will create a more peaceful environment around you ... and you can't lose there!

Founder and president of The Master Plan, Tanya James is the author of From Promiscuity to Proverbs 31: Getting Off the Fence of Sexual Immorality. For more information about Tanya, log onto www.armedanddangerous.biz or www.themasterplan.biz. *Tanya James is a 2009 StreamingFaith.com Guest Columnist.

© Tanya James all rights reserved