Bible Verses With Comments

Exodus 23:9

"You must not oppress foreigners. You know what it's like to be a foreigner, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt."

The commandment I base what I do on, is the 'Love your God and neighbour as yourself' one because it encompasses the ones of the OT into just 2 sentences that encourage thinking and decision making with the Holy Spirit.

However, that doesn't make all the commandments in the OT invalid or outdated. And this, I believe is a great example of one of the many ways we can learn from our ancestors. After all from how I see it, learning history helps us know our past mistakes so we can learn from them.

I believe everyone understands the feeling of being 'the new girl'. It's a cloud-like label that hangs over your head and is automatically cited when you don't know what other people know. Lost in the hallway? Oh, she's the new girl. Can't find your classroom? New girl. Don't know about the broken door? Definitely new girl.

You can't escape it. And in the space between being the new-girl to being an integrated member of that society, there's so much confusion and a lot to take in. It could be very overwhelming honestly.

So now picture this... a new girl walks through the doors, holding a map in the wrong direction and looks to be in complete distress. Once upon a time, you used to be that new girl (maybe subtract the map) and you felt somehow the same way. Knowing how challenging that was for you, would you taunt and mock her for being so confused, or help her find a way?

I'm sure we know the Christian thing to do.

Which is what this verse is telling us. Put yourself in the shoes of others. Empathy. Bible says to do to others what you want them to do to you. Not what others did to you. So even though you didn't have the best experience being new, as a Child of God, you shouldn't force someone else to have that horrible experience.

So go into your world, empathising with the new people around you and flourish!

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for your Word which has so much to teach me. I thank you for the lessons that I learn from it and I pray that I would not just be a hearer but a doer and put it all to action. I pray that I would keep a positive attitude to the vulnerable, confused and all who need help. Your Word says to treat others the way I want to be treated so God, help me to treat others with love, kindness and respect. Convict me to do the right thing as I endeavour to improve my society one step at a time. In Jesus Name. Amen.