Nehemiah 5:14-19
In spite of all this, I never demanded the food alloted to the governor because the demands were heavy on these people. (Neh.5:18b)
Everybody thinks they deserve to be treated according to the status they acquire or they possess. People expect special treatment with respect to the position they are in. Husband, wife, best friend, parents, children, boyfriend, girlfriend, supervisor, chairman, boss; each requires special treatment because of the status. People are easy to demand. It is even worse when people demand blindly without first observing the others' conditions.
We often demand others to suit our feelings. We require others to make us happy. We expect others to fulfill our ideal type of husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, best friend, employee, etc. But many times, we put these 'heavy' demands before our responsibilities. The golden rule says 'Don't expect others to do more that you would do for them'. It is an exploitation to expect others to do more for us. It is best if we can observe others' conditions before we demand them anything. Don't judge people easily. Judgment belongs to God. Don't say 'you are a lousy husband', 'you are an uncaring wife', 'you are an unloving boyfriend', 'you are an unfaithful girlfriend', 'you are a disrespectful child', etc. Don't readily attribute peoples' shortcomings to their natures. Just because he is late, it does not mean that he is a lazy person. There are thousands of possibilities that we should inquire on why he is late. Again, don't be easy to judge. Always try to understand other peoples' positions before we expect them to do anything.
Nehemiah did the opposite to what many people would do. He was appointed as a governor. He was in that post for at least 12 years, but never at single occasion did he ever claim his special rights. He did not claim the extra food he could have according to his status. He knew it would burden the people and he did not want that to happen. He rather rejected the special offers than burdening the people. That's the ideal leader, the ideal companion. If every leader, president, supervisor, husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, best friend, etc, would be caring enough like Nehemiah, there would be no unhealthy conflicts and separations. If everyone reflects on themselves and think about others before they demand something, this world will be full of love and will be peaceful. Be a good buddy to other people before expecting them to be your buddy. I think that's what the Father in heaven wants from His children.
