“Have kindly affection one for another with brotherly love, in honor preferring one another.” Romans 12:10 King James Version
Authors have a custom of choosing a word at the beginning of each year to guide their thoughts, and actions. For several months, the word prefer has been in my mind. Chapter 12 of Romans seems to address the body of Christ, the church. With different skills and abilities, the members are to work together, respecting and honoring each other.
I have interpreted this charge differently, with my marriage in mind. After 47 years of marriage, I am often asked for my “secret”. My response has always been simple. “Choose your battles.” There are very few things worth fighting over, and hardly anything really comes between us at this point in our lives.
The idea of avoiding battles seems negative, though. Perhaps a better description is that I “prefer” my husband. Kind affection, brotherly love, honor. All of these thoughts fit with the attitude of enjoying the time I spend with my spouse. When deciding how I spend my time and efforts, I can show that I honor him by preferring those things that please him. This may include deferring to him, putting my own desires in a secondary position at times. It’s much more than just avoiding battles.
This year, I will be marketing a complete series of three books. I move from attracting attention as a new author to appealing to readers who appreciate my work. I want to “prefer” Christians who are looking for contemporary stories of young people struggling to find themselves.
Does preferring people imply that I am rejecting others? No. I want to be aware of honoring everyone with kind affection, with brotherly love. That is exactly what Jesus would do. He offers His love freely to all. In appealing to and marketing to my preferred audience, I am showing my Christian love to all.
I will be looking for ways to prefer, to honor others throughout the coming year.
I would love for you to join me in this journey.
Starting now, you can order your Kindle copy of Love Never Fails, ahead of the release date of January 30.
Praying God’s blessings on you and your family during the coming year.
Image by Annette Meyer from Pixabay
Leave a Reply