We all have bad days from time to time – days in which we’re not at the top of our game. And, of course, we appreciate grace being extended to us in these moments – overlooking our current shortcomings. But the presence of grace is never an excuse to fail in our duty to love. Regardless of how bad our day has been, we don’t get to take the day off from love.
Certainly, it’s easier to love when we’re in a good spot ourselves. We tend to have more patience and kindness when our reserves are not depleted.
But we don’t get to live every day in these optimal conditions. And some days we’re simply worn down or perhaps just pissed off.
But whatever it looks like, and regardless of whether it’s justified or not, we don’t get to stop loving just because we’re having a bad day.
For example, we’re clearly taught not to sin even when we’re angry. Anger has its place, but never as an excuse for sin. Said another way, we don’t get to stop loving just because we’re angry.
And the same is true whenever we’re hurt or otherwise overwhelmed.
While our pain and suffering needs to be honored in its own right, this still doesn’t give us justification to take a day off from love.
To be sure, there’s a place to retreat, recover, and care for our own wounds. But caring for our own souls doesn’t mean we can treat others however we feel or neglect our responsibilities to them.
Likewise, the call to love remains regardless of how busy our day has been or how important our next project is to complete.
This is not to minimize our personal struggles, hardships, or grievances. But it is a reminder we never get to clock out from our service of love.
And we allow evil to gain a foothold in our life when we do.
In the end, it’s okay to have a bad day. It’s not okay to take a day off from love.
Photo by Brandon Hoogenboom on Unsplash
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