There’s a common misconception, especially amongst Christians, that it is our responsibility to make sure our family and loved ones change for the better. That is not your responsibility; the two most important things for us to do as humans is to love God and love people. Obviously, if you’re not a Christian you will automatically think that this doesn’t apply to you, but bear with me.

Unless you are living under a rock we are all aware of what’s going on both in our country and around the world. We might not know all the details of every situation happening, but we can see chaos left and right. Have you noticed what’s missing? Love.

The love for people has gone down the trash and some might say, “well I can’t love this person or that person because they are horrible individuals,” and I agree that some people lack respect, lack love, and don’t seem worthy of our genuine friendship, but have you ever seen someone’s character change and realize that they truly are someone worth befriending?

We all want to see change, we all want to see things get better, but in order for that to happen is for us to stop trying to take responsibility in making other people change and start to change things internally. Let’s work on our character, let’s work on our respect, let’s work on our love and just watch how the people around you begin to react. It’s easier said than done, yes, I understand that, but if we want to leave a legacy for our children and our younger family members to live in a more caring and loving society, we have to fix ourselves first.

It is not your responsibility to change your neighbor, it is not your responsibility to change your family, but it is your responsibility to seek God and love people. Let’s have a conversation, even if you disagree with me or others, let’s work on understanding why instead of simply giving the cold shoulder.