I can’t talk about my Everybody, Always review without first talking about its author, Bob Goff. A few months ago, I met Bob. As expected, he was one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. His joy and laughter were infectious, and I could tell he truly cared about talking with me. I want to be a lot more like Bob when I grow up.
When Bob’s latest book Everybody, Always released, I couldn’t wait to pick it up and dive in. It’s full of wisdom, and here are just four of the things I learned from it.
- Care more about loving people than being right. As Christians, it’s easy to get so caught up in what the “right” things are that we overlook the people God has placed in our lives to love. Ouch. I love this quote from Bob in his book: “After long enough, what looks like faith isn’t really faith anymore. It’s just compliance. The problem with mere compliance is it turns us into actors.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be an actor with my faith. When we waste our time arguing with someone about why our view on a controversial topic is “right” on social media or in real life, we actually cause people to want to stay far away from us. Jesus didn’t come to argue with people; He came to love them.
- Love the creepy people in your life. Have you ever met someone who just kind of creeped you out? (C’mon, you know you thought of someone.) It’s easy to want to avoid those people, but Jesus calls us to love them anyway. So, how do we love people we’d rather not? We get to know them. To God, there’s no such thing as creepy people and not-so-creepy people—we’re all His kids! When we understand this, we realize there’s nothing that makes us better than the people we might avoid. We should love everybody, always.
- Be available and be present. Bob puts his phone number at the end of every book, and he’ll take almost every call he gets. Talk about availability! When we’re available to other people, we can serve them well. When we do serve others, let’s be present with that person—not always looking over their shoulder at something or someone else. It’s key to remember that you have to be available first to the most important people God has placed in your life—your spouse, your kids, and your family.
- There’s always an opportunity to make someone’s day. Do you remember how I mentioned Bob pretty much always answers his phone, no matter who is calling? I bet that makes the person calling feel pretty special. I bet there are ways you can make someone’s day, too. Maybe it’s throwing a birthday party for a coworker, sending an encouraging text, or paying for someone else’s order in the drive-through line. No matter how small, you can make a big difference in someone’s day.
I loved Everybody, Always. The biggest reason is probably because I love Bob! He’s trying to be a lot more like Jesus, and his book inspired me to do the same.
