Hey, Carpool Crew! It's the very first day of August, and on the podcast that means school is officially back. I'm Pastor Justin, and before we jump in, let me give a big shout-out to Cameran and Wyatt from Corpus Christi, Texas. So glad you are riding with us today. Now, some of you started a couple weeks ago, and some of you do not start for a while. That is totally okay. On Carpooling with Jesus, the start of August is our first day, so we are all walking in together. And this episode is all about treating other people the way you wish they would treat you. You know that moment when somebody shoves past you in the hallway like you are not even there, and your hands kind of ball up and you want to shove right back? Yeah. That one. We've all been there. Let's jump in with the one thing I want you to remember for the ride: go first, and treat the kid next to you the way you wish someone would treat you. Listen to this from Matthew 7:12. Jesus says, "Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." That last part, the Law and the Prophets, is a fancy way of saying this one idea sums up almost everything God asks of us. One sentence. That big. Jesus said this sitting on a grassy hillside in front of a huge crowd. No microphones, no chairs. Just regular people, moms and dads and kids, sitting on the grass, leaning in to hear Him. They were waiting for a long list of rules. Instead, Jesus handed them something they could carry in one hand. Then He flipped the whole thing around. Most of us wait. We wait to see if the other kid is nice first, and then we decide how we are going to act back. Jesus says do not wait. You go first. You be the warm one before anybody has earned it. If Jesus were sitting next to you in the car right now, He would lean over and say, "You do not have to wait to be treated right before you treat someone right. Start it. Be the kind one. I will be right there with you when it feels hard." It is lunch time. You are halfway through your sandwich, and you spot a kid standing at the end of the table holding a tray, looking around, not sure where to go. Everybody else is busy talking. You know that feeling, the one where your stomach drops because there is no open seat with your name on it. So you slide your tray over six inches and say, "There is room right here." That is it. That is the whole thing. Hey, this week, try one of these three things. First, go first one time a day. Hold a door, say good morning, hand somebody the marker before they ask. Second, find the kid standing alone at recess or in the lunchroom and say four words: "You can hang here." Third, and this is the one nobody sees: when a kid is rude to you, do not keep score. Being kind is easy when people are nice back. Doing it when they are not is the real thing. Hey, let's go back to that one thing I wanted you to remember for the ride. Go first, and treat the kid next to you the way you wish someone would treat you. Remember, no matter where you are or how you're listening, God loves you. And parents, this episode is a free one, but it is actually the kind of bonus episode our Carpooling with Jesus+ families get all the time, including weekends. If today helped your family, follow the show and check out Carpooling with Jesus+. For less than a snack run, your kids get extra episodes all week long. Before you go, let's answer this question together. Who is one kid at school you could go first with this week, and what is one thing you could do for them? I'll see you tomorrow on Carpooling with Jesus.
