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Jesus says, “Love one another.” And not just the ones we like and agree with but every single person—even the one who calls you on the telephone to sell you a product just when you’re sitting down to dinner. Until recently I had been in the habit of slamming the receiver down when there was such a call. Then an article in Psychology Today challenged me to imagine what it’s like to be standing in someone else’s shoes.  

So, imagine with me, what this person sees, hears, feels. Think of it: siting in a small cubicle all day facing a computer that tells you what to say and you are low-salaried. Maybe you’re a single parent or student working to pay for school. You spend your days dealing with frustrated and angry customers, getting yelled at regularly, having people swear at you, having person after person slam the receiver down—like a slap in the face—and it feels like cold hard rejection. And the slaps just keep happening all day long.

When I hear Jesus say “love one another” I know I need to treat those telecommunicators differently.  If you could stand in someone else’s shoes… Hear what they hear. See what they see. Feel what they feel. Would you treat them differently?

Here is a beautiful video from The Cleveland Clinic on empathy – which many call the ability to stand in someone else’s shoes. Perhaps this video will help you, like it helped me, follow Jesus words to love one another.

Updated 2022