Know this about people with sincere hearts

What we need to remember about people with sincere hearts is this…

They are so ordinary as to be unnoticeable.  Yet the entire world has hope because of individuals like these.  They excuse your frailties and don’t make you repeat yourself.  They make the effort to hear first time.  They give you the benefit of the doubt when you probably wouldn’t expect it, and you often don’t even notice.  At times when you should apologise and don’t, they either understand or don’t sweat it, but it still hurts if they’re honest or linger there.  They think you’re important even if you don’t treat them the same way.  They make a place in their heart for you even when they’re struggling with what you’ve said and done.  They’re never too busy for you.  They move heaven and earth so you can be accommodated.  And then they get into trouble because their boundaries ‘aren’t strong or clear enough’.  They absorb your junk and actually make your day run smoother.  These are beautifully hearted people who are often criticised for being a pushover.  Actually, they believe everyone should be treated the way they’re treating you, yet they’re humble enough not to demand back what they so willingly give.

You may wonder why the nicest people are also the most sensitive, and why they care so much about people and things, and why they are so easily upset; because they give of themselves to the fullest extent with little or no demand made on you or anyone else.  You take them for granted, never understanding how essential their love is.  The attention they give you they give because they want to, and you may too easily disregard what that says about you in their eyes; the fact that they esteem you so highly.  It’s ironic with these that they accept the love you give them, however little and insignificant it is to you, while they lavish you, still believing in their heart that you’re both giving equally, because for them to believe anything to the contrary would have them face a hurtful reality.

Here is what you should know.  Take them for granted no longer.  Everyone and every situation has a use-by date.  There is a day coming and soon to arrive when a sincere heart will get the message and begin to give up on you.  Fruit doesn’t go rotten immediately having been ripe for the eating for some time.  It rots when it’s ignored and isn’t cared for.  Sincere hearts do not grow hard unless they’ve been consistently treated harshly.

It’s such a tragic irony that we often don’t appreciate the good things in our lives until they are gone.  It does us well to consider the relationships we are blessed to have in this life, and to know exactly how they in enrich us, so we can be thankful now before it’s too late.  Every single day of our lives we are called to a ministry of reconciliation.  Every single relationship requires tending and repair.

“It is better to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

Photo by Anna Kolosyuk on Unsplash