Loving Sinners
[Let your] love be sincere (a real thing); hate what is evil [loathe all ungodliness, turn in horror from wickedness], but hold fast to that which is good. Love one another with brotherly affection [as members of one family], giving precedence and showing honor to on another.
Romans 12:9-10 Amplified
All to often, we think that to hate what is evil means we can mistreat people who do bad things. We think that instructions like these in the Bible give us the right to put down others and create divisions among ourselves based on our assessment of the situation. But that is not what this means at all. Who we are and what we do are two separate things and sometimes, good people do bad things.
While the Bible clearly tells us to hate evil it does not give us permission to be unkind people. Let's face it, we all make poor choices and give in to temptations - some are just more socially acceptable than others. What tempts me may not bother you and what tempts you may not be a big deal to someone else. We are often quick to judge and criticize people who give in to temptations that are not difficult for us. And this, my friends, is not love.
Love does not like the wrong doings but it understands the weakness of human nature and chooses instead to overlook the sin and love the sinner.
Many years ago as I struggled with this very issue of separating what Joyce Meyer calls our "who" and our "do" God showed me how my sins are no different - they are not any worse or any better - than someone else's sins. To God, sin is sin no matter what we do. We are the one's who create a hierarchy of sin and label one as 'little' and another as 'big.'
We do this in part to feel better about ourselves because it's hard to acknowledge just how sinful we are. By comparing our sin to the sin of someone else, we fool ourselves into thinking that we are better than they are. "Well, at least I haven't committed adultery, " we think to ourselves as we watch "R" rated movies full of swear words, nudity, and graphic sex scenes. In God's eyes there are not distinctions like this. There are only two possibilities, either it's sinful or it's not.
The challenge with loving people is to accept them as they are even when we don't like what they do. But remember, this is how God loves us.
We don't have to like or agree with what another person says or does in order to treat them right. We can still speak kindly to them or offer to help them when they are in need. Instead of holding grudges when people hurt us, we can hold on to forgiveness knowing that we need it just as much as they do.
Refuse to let yourself judge the actions of others and treat every person the same - with love and kindness.
Heidirn
Romans 12:9-10 Amplified
All to often, we think that to hate what is evil means we can mistreat people who do bad things. We think that instructions like these in the Bible give us the right to put down others and create divisions among ourselves based on our assessment of the situation. But that is not what this means at all. Who we are and what we do are two separate things and sometimes, good people do bad things.
While the Bible clearly tells us to hate evil it does not give us permission to be unkind people. Let's face it, we all make poor choices and give in to temptations - some are just more socially acceptable than others. What tempts me may not bother you and what tempts you may not be a big deal to someone else. We are often quick to judge and criticize people who give in to temptations that are not difficult for us. And this, my friends, is not love.
Love does not like the wrong doings but it understands the weakness of human nature and chooses instead to overlook the sin and love the sinner.
Many years ago as I struggled with this very issue of separating what Joyce Meyer calls our "who" and our "do" God showed me how my sins are no different - they are not any worse or any better - than someone else's sins. To God, sin is sin no matter what we do. We are the one's who create a hierarchy of sin and label one as 'little' and another as 'big.'
We do this in part to feel better about ourselves because it's hard to acknowledge just how sinful we are. By comparing our sin to the sin of someone else, we fool ourselves into thinking that we are better than they are. "Well, at least I haven't committed adultery, " we think to ourselves as we watch "R" rated movies full of swear words, nudity, and graphic sex scenes. In God's eyes there are not distinctions like this. There are only two possibilities, either it's sinful or it's not.
The challenge with loving people is to accept them as they are even when we don't like what they do. But remember, this is how God loves us.
We don't have to like or agree with what another person says or does in order to treat them right. We can still speak kindly to them or offer to help them when they are in need. Instead of holding grudges when people hurt us, we can hold on to forgiveness knowing that we need it just as much as they do.
Refuse to let yourself judge the actions of others and treat every person the same - with love and kindness.
Heidirn
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