Many people do their best to live life according to certain principles. For example, the Golden Rule, ‘do unto others as you would have them to do unto you,’ found in Matthew 7:12, is a principle for living that millions of people, of all backgrounds and beliefs, do their best to live by. If you’re a parent, it’s most likely one of the first rules you expected your child to obey.
There is another principle in life I like to call “The Also Principle.” This way of life isn’t new or foreign to most, it’s just a different way of framing the concept of going above and beyond, or ‘going the extra mile.’
Adding the “also” is a way of living that places value upon others. It bestows honor. It takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary in special and thoughtful ways. The “Also Principle” isn’t about doing to be seen, it’s about doing what is right whether is it seen or unseen. There is something powerful and supernatural that happens in your life, and the others, when you add the “also.”
Genesis 24 introduces us to a young woman named Rebekah. Abraham sent his servant on a special mission to find a wife for his son Isaac. Can you imagine the pressure the servant must have felt to find the perfect woman of Isaac? The servant prayed and asked the Lord for s specific sign. Let’s pick up the story in Genesis 24:12.
Then he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”
15 And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah,[c] who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. 16 Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. 17 And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”
18 So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. 21 And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.
22 So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, 23 and said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father’s house for us [d]to lodge?”
26 Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. 27 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.” 28 So the young woman ran and told her mother’s household these things.
To say the servant had a successful experience is an understatement! Rebekah’s honor towards the servant was how the servant knew she was God’s choice. Though the servant was a stranger, she honored him, and his animals, by adding the “also.” Let’s look again at verses 18 and 19 (emphasis added).
18 So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.
What a remarkable and peculiar thing Rebekah did for the servant and all of his camels! The story tells us that Rebekah is chosen by the servant and released by her family to be Isaac’s wife. Rebekah willingly returns with Abraham’s servant and begins her new life. Honor set this young woman apart and launched her into her destiny.
The Also Principle is manifested through our attitude and willingness to serve others even when it is inconvenient. When we live this way and with this attitude of serving, we will walk in God’s blessing. Our fleshly nature may try to convince us that going above and beyond isn’t worth the time and effort. Or perhaps we don’t realize the deep impact your behavior has on others.
My encouragement to you today is to think beyond yourself and add this life changing principle to your daily life. Whether small or big, adding the “also” will have an incredible impact on your life and others!