Romans 12:9 Don’t just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. This is an area where my husband really shines, and I wish I could do better. He stands up for what is right all the time, even when it’s not popular or easy. He hates injustice and works really hard to make sure he’s fair and good to his employees. At his work place, he constantly fights to make sure those under him don’t get thrown under the bus by corporate and often stands up against those higher up than him in order to make sure somebody says what is true and right. I, on the other hand, tend to be more timid and less courageous to stand up when everyone else is doing something else. It’s gotten me in trouble in the past, and it frustrates me that I’m not always strong enough to stand firmly in what I know is right. Now, I’m a horrible liar, which is a good thing, so if someone asks me what I think I’ll probably tell them (couched in the nicest possible terms, of course). This irritates me about myself. I want to be courageous and bold, but I’m not. Pretending to love people is something that I see a lot, especially in workplaces. It’s expected that everyone will smile and be nice to each other and generally “fake it.” As mentioned above, I’m awful at lying and am pretty bad at the smile and fake it game. This can be really annoying, or it can be really good. At my job right now, it’s bad because my boss wants everyone to have “a good attitude” which equates to smiling and being happy and cheerful and positive all the time. I struggle with this because I’m not always thrilled with things all the time and pretending that I am makes my stomach flip. However, being “real” with him about my concerns and frustrations would get me fired. Sad. So, from this verse I realize two things… my husband is an awesome man (I already knew this, but it’s always nice to be reminded) and there are ways I wish I could be more like he is, and I need to work on loving everyone in my life, even the unlovable ones who drive me nuts.