Loving others is an action, and beyond that, it is an action that sometimes requires strategy. Loving others strategically can take several forms. It can also look both good and not so good.
Loving others looks good when strategic relationships are formed.
Loving others looks good when we ask intentional questions.
Loving others looks good when we listen intently to someone’s answers.
Loving others looks bad when we use others as means to an end.
Loving others looks bad when we have an agenda behind our actions.
Loving others looks bad when we only love for selfish gain.
Loving others well and building relationships takes thought, time and effort. Just as in marriage or any real friendship, we cannot love simply based on our feelings, and beyond that, actions will only take us so far. It’s our questions, our listening, our patience and our understanding of one another’s differences that will take our relationships with others beyond action and into walking with them through life, side by side.
-Cliff
Cliff’s Note: I don’t know if all of this is accurate, but it feels like there may be some truth to it. Love takes strategy.