people are people, too.

'There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit.' - C.S. Lewis

I think we forget that people are people. We forget they are just like us. He's just like me. She's just like me. We're stuck in this mode that makes us incapable of grasping the concept that other people...are people. (I heard babies are like this until somewhere past the age of 2...)

They aren't just a face on a body or a name on a badge. They think, the dream, they hope, they feel, they love. Not one is a mere mortal. The man who changes your oil, the woman who waits your table, the receptionist at the doctor's office, the housekeeper at that last hotel, the businessman, the writer, the teacher, the pilot. Maybe they show up to work day after day. Maybe they do well at their jobs, maybe they don't. We're all the same.

We all have eternity set before us. We all shape and mold each other with our conversations, relationships, or lack thereof.

How can you say to one person, "You deserve my respect," and not to another? God shows no favoritism (Romans 2:11). James 2 addresses favoritism (v. 1-7):

My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?

What will it take for us to peel our eyes off of ourselves? How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1) What will it take for us to respond? Do we understand the depth of His love?

2 Corinthians 5:14-16 says,

"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer." (emphasis mine)

We are called to be... shining stars. Philippians 2:14-15 - Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.

People are people, too. Don't be reckless with the hearts of your brothers and sisters. Get to know them. Discover their story. Be part of it. Even if you're just a 30-second blip in their lifetime, leave your mark. Love like no other. And when I say "like no other," I mean "like Jesus."