On Being Nice

So we talked about lifestyle giving at church today. We talked about examining the way we look at other people and the things we can do to help them. I missed a lot of it, but I've been thinking about it all week and trying to see what changes I need to make. A friend made an observation that involved seeing a homeless man as the child he once was and how Jesus must see him, and how we can strive to do that with strangers. So, I was sitting on the Metro by myself and looked around and did just that. It was really cool. Instead of the snide comments I usually make to myself in my head ("that guy thinks he's hot stuff" or "whoa is that skirt short, how old does she think she is?"), I simply looked at them as people, and I wondered what made them smile and what their worries and insecurities were. It was really refreshing.
Then, another day, something else happened to make me think further on this. I was driving down Mass ave and I noticed one of those jerk drivers that zoom around changing lanes in my rear-view mirror. He zoomed up behind me, my lane slowed down, and he zoomed into the right lane. A little further on, I saw him, stuck behind a parked car with his blinker on, trying to get back into my lane. I said, "ha ha, serves him right", and drove on without letting him in. Now, normally, I let people in when they have on their blinkers and need to get in. But, I didn't do it because I thought this guy was a jerk. Which made me think, ought we to be nice only to people who are nice? That doesn't seem right. I should have let the jerk in.