But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. (Matthew 5:22)
But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (Matthew 5:44)
“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, (Luke 6:27)
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting
nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be
sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. (Luke 6:35)
Love is patient, love is kind. It
does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It
does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily
angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love
does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It
always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never
fails. (I Corinthians 13:4-8a)
I saw a comment yesterday in which someone who claims the
name of Christ referred to someone as a moron. It’s not the first time, of course,
and “moron” isn’t the only derogatory name used. When I objected, someone else told me, “If
it quacks like a duck, it’s a duck.” I must point out that one of my favorite
kinds of ducks doesn’t quack, but it’s still a duck.
So, if it quacks
like a duck, it’s a duck? According to what our scriptures today tell us, we
are to love our enemies, do them good, and pray for them. If we call them
names, we are answerable in court. These are things Jesus taught. So, when we call
someone names, we’re not making the noises Christ told us to make, meaning we
aren’t being Christian.
If we are to love
our enemies, that means we need to put the name of that enemy in the following
adaptation of I Corinthians 13:4-8a I am patient with (name of enemy), I
am kind to (name of enemy), I do not envy (name of enemy). I do not boast
to (name of enemy) or about my superiority to (name of enemy). I am not proud
around (name of enemy). I do not dishonor (name of enemy). I am not self-seeking
in my treatment of (name of enemy). I am not easily angered at/with (name of
enemy). I keep no record of (name of enemy)’s wrongs. I do not delight in evil befalling (name of enemy) but rejoice with the truth. I always protect (name
of enemy), always trust (name of enemy), always hope for (name of
enemy), always persevere on (name of enemy)’s behalf. I never fail (name
of enemy).
Reading the
paragraph above with someone’s name in there would be difficult. If nothing else,
how do you trust someone who means you ill or seeks to profit at your expense? You
can trust them to mean you ill or seek to profit at your expense, and you can
trust that God is just as in control as He was when Jesus was arrested, tried,
and executed.
Draw your own
conclusion. If it quacks like a duck, it’s a duck – except for Black-bellied Whistling
Ducks, who don’t quack like ducks even though they’re ducks. If you don’t make
the sort of noises Christ made, should we call you a Christian? I know “nobody’s
perfect.” I’m not talking about perfection. I am suggesting that there’s a goal
for which we should aim.
There’s a meme that
was going around a couple months ago, about our being Americans, and that we
needed to start acting like it. It’s the same with Christians. If we are Christians,
we need to start acting like it, and sounding like it.
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