Do Good To All People
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” -- Luke 6:27-28
Nobody was in agreement. There was a bit of polarization. Some heated words. Some of us shaking our heads. It’s just what happens when you put 12 people with diverse backgrounds and views in a room and tell them to make a decision.
One woman -- one of those take charge folks -- brought up the second commandment. She looked at me, no doubt taking in the silver cross I wear most everywhere. I fought back a chuckle. She wanted us to love everyone -- so long as everyone agreed with her.
I let it go. There was no point in a Bible lesson during a jury deliberation. But it was just so typical of how we view love. We want to love those we want to love. And we want to hate, or at least dislike, those we don’t want to like. And we want to pretend that Jesus never told us to love our enemies and to do good to those who hurt you.
I’m not saying it’s easy. It isn’t. Some days are all about forgiving, over and over again. And praying for those who harm you. Again and again and again. Because some hurts never seem to end and some people never seem to change. But it really isn’t about those who harm us. It’s about our relationship with God.
We were an odd assortment of folks. The unemployed man, with the foul mouth and worse attitude. The young girl, barely 20, who was so impressed with herself. I wanted to tell her she didn’t know a fraction of what she thought she did but I figured she’d learn that herself over time. We all do.
The quiet jury foreman seemed intelligent, well-spoken, reasoned. Two women barely said a word. Another bemoaned the state of our sue-happy society. Reasonable damages. Nothing excessive, just because some wanted to reward the underdog. Just the facts.
Another woman had an attitude about the defendant. She didn’t like him and didn’t mind showing it. He was arrogant, she told us all. Cocky, she said. I wondered what, or who, had hurt her so badly. Because her attitude had nothing to do with the case.
Isn’t that how it often is? We have an attitude with someone because of something someone else did to us. We dislike a company because one employee was incompetent. We leave a church because one person hurt our feelings. Or we look down on someone because of their address, the color of their skin, the car they drive or their financial status.
Love your enemies. Love those who are different. Embrace those who disagree with you. See good, even if you have to search for it. Because we all have good in us and we all have bad.
“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” -- Luke 6:31
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