“Live in harmony with each other. Do not be proud but make friends with those who seem unimportant. Do not think how smart you are. If someone does wrong to you, do not pay him back by doing wrong to him. Try to do what everyone thinks is right. Do your best to live in peace with everyone." -Romans 12:16-18
If you have ever lived by any type of body of water or visited a beach you know about seagulls. They hang around water in numbers too numerous to count. And the bigger the water, the bigger the flock. It’s fun to chase them and watch them scatter in all directions. And some people enjoy feeding them as they love any kind of food thrown their way.
Although chasing them and feeding them can be fun, they are not the nicest bird. If you ever get a chance to just watch them, you will see so much disharmony among them. They fight over any food they find, and they make such noise as if they are grumbling or gossiping. They even will sneak up on you and take whatever they want when you’re not looking. They can be a menace period.
In watching seagulls, I have learned that we shouldn’t live like them always fighting over things, squabbling over little things, even causing trouble just to cause trouble. When I taught my church cradle roll kids about Jesus at the Beach, we even sang a song how we can learn not to be like the seagulls.
Jesus even talks about arguing and fighting with others in the Bible and He always says we shouldn’t live that way (2 Timothy 2:23-24). But what do we do when dealing with a difficult person we wish we could just “shoo away”? God has shown us He wants more than just that “shoo, go away” attitude. He reminds us that there is beauty even in the most difficult of people if we just get close enough to see their beauty.
If you get a chance to get close enough to a seagull you might get a chance to see the miracle in God’s creation. Although they squabble, fight, and steal they can teach us a few good things too. For instance, a male and female, once together, stay together for life. When danger approaches, they huddle protecting each other. And they all take care of each other’s kids.
So, first we should remember to not act like seagull and fight and squabble. And when a disagreeable person is in your life, try to see past the way they are portraying themselves and try to see the good in them. They could be having a hard time in life at the moment, they just might not know how to talk with you, or they just need more time to get to know you.
Finally, if we are to learn anything from the seagulls, it should be to always stay with your mate, God gave you each other and has the best planned for you together. Next, huddle together when danger enters your church family, God wants us to work in numbers, use the numbers for good. And always take care of each other’s children. It takes an army to raise a child not just the parents.
Just like a seagull, there is beauty in each person if we just look for it. We are God’s greatest creation and we are created in His image. He created everything around us but saved us for the best part of creation. Remember to not be a flock of disharmony but a flock of peace and love. Show others Jesus is your Creator and bring out the best in each other.
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