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considerate – showing kindly awareness or regard for another’s feelings, circumstances or wishes.

I was studying 1 Peter last month, and there is one phrase from that letter that keeps coming back to me – “Be considerate.”

That is not a word that we use a lot anymore. It is not a concept that we devote much thought too. That’s too bad. The world could use more considerate people.

The Bible doesn’t use that word too much either, although the concept is found throughout the New Testament in verses like:

“Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)

“In everything, treat others as you would want them to treat you.” (Matthew 7:12)

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3)

Those at the top of the list that we should be considerate of and considerate to, are those in our family, both biological and spiritual. Our spouses should be the first person to whom we are considerate, but, unfortunately, they are too often taken for granted and wind up on the bottom rung of the considerate ladder.

This should not be, and that seems to be the way Peter felt about it as well. When he wrote “be considerate” he was addressing husbands and how they are to treat their wives. Specifically he says, “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect…” (1 Peter 3:7)

I have read 1 Peter dozens of times and I don’t ever remember him saying this, but this last time it stuck. Maybe God is trying to tell me something! I think about it often, and guess what? I have been more considerate to my wife. I see dirty dishes in the sink, and I think, “What would be the considerate thing to do?” Wash the dishes! And I do. I make coffee in the morning and consider whether or not my wife would like a cup. I ask her and she tells me that she would enjoy a cup of coffee with cream and sugar, thank you very much. I am walking down the street in Tlacolula, Mexico, running errands, and I see a flower vender. I consider my wife, and the next think you know, I am putting a dozen roses in the car.

These are just a few, small examples, but maybe, if we all were a bit more considerate of others, and did a couple extra considerate things everyday, the world would be a happier place. After all, God wants us to be happy and considers our needs, wants and wishes, and blesses us beyond all measure, so let us bless others (especially our spouses) by being considerate.

“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you. Therefore do not be anxious about anything.” Matthew 6:28-31