Skip to main content

Wisdom Is Not A Knee-Jerk Reaction. Hatred Is.


Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. (Colossians 4:5) 

            Having spent some time looking at how we are to treat one another within a community, it seems appropriate to consider how to treat the "not one anothers" we encounter. The first key for me is to acknowledge that different  people warm up to both one anothers and "not one anothers" at different rates. There are a few people that I hit it off with quickly. Most take time, and when it comes to whole groups, that time may be a couple years. I have friends who seem to make instant friends with everyone. You probably know to which category you belong and I believe it's wise to work within that understanding.
            For some, being wise toward outsiders (the not one anothers) seems to mean to be street smart, to protect themselves so that they are not scammed, taken advantage of or hurt. It means dealing with the enemy. There is a sense in which this is accurate, and a sense in which it is an overly broad generalization (therefore inaccurate.)  Once upon a time, we were all part of that same enemy force. Those enemies are best eliminated by their conversion, not their execution. This may mean taking the chance of treating them as human beings now, rather than as sub-human enemies. This was the teaching of the Old Testament as well. The foreigner was to be treated like a neighboring Jew. That principle has not changed. You never know when the Saul who is persecuting you will become the Paul who is one of your champions.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...
Post a Comment
Read more