September 23, 2024

                                    Be the Light

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:43-45a

How do you respond to hatred? How do you react to bigotry? How do you combat lies engineered to fuel unrest?

Haitian migrants have moved to our community. No one seems to know exactly how many but the numbers are small. They’ve been here for about 10 months. And now certain people have decided to use the migrants as a political agenda based on hate.

The migrants haven’t caused trouble. They haven’t “drained” our resources. For example, one elementary school in our town has ONE Haitian child. They are working people who are trying to build a new life.

This has caused some people to react in anger. Their hostility mirrors the hate they are attacking. Their loud voices will not change the opinions or hearts of those who attack people they don’t even know. It will just create an escalation that does no one any good.

It came up before and after church yesterday. While some were focused on what we can do to help integrate the Haitian migrants into our community, others were more focused on lashing out at those who have unfairly attacked the migrants.

I am all about freedom of speech and freedom to express your opinion. I am an editorial columnist after all. But there is a way to make your point without inflaming an already bad situation.

Martin Luther King, Jr. put it this way:

Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.

I would go a step further and say that hatred begets hatred.

How much more powerful to simply love on the people who are now facing such vocal cruelty? How much better to SHOW how to live a life of faith than to try and argue with people who are filled with hate?

I know. Many of the people who are behaving so ugly are also people who are in church most Sundays. But do we allow them to drag us down or do we, by our own behavior, lift them up?

Jesus told us to love our enemies. He went on to ask what it will accomplish to love those who are good to us? The power, if you will, comes from loving people who aren’t behaving in a loving manner.

We are to be the light. It’s in the Bible. Read it for yourself. Let go of the darkness and pray for those who would do harm. God can do anything if His people will only seek from the depths of their hearts.

September 11, 2024

                          Where Were You?

And now these three things remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthians 13:13

As the Alan Jackson song asks: Where were you when the world stopped turning? Most of us remember September 11, 2001 so well. Shock. Disbelief. Sorrow. Anger. Did you hit your knees in prayer?

And what about the day after? Were you kinder, more helpful to strangers? Did you let go of pettiness? Did you remember that we are One Nation, Under God?

Today is a beautiful, if sorrowful, reminder of what really matters. That’s the message Paul was trying to teach the Corinthians. This letter was to address a church in disarray. There was much finger pointing and arrogance. But accolades and bank accounts disappear. Disputes over who’s in charge and exactly how we should worship don’t really matter in the end.

Why do we hate each other simply because we have different views? Why do we use the Bible as a weapon, pulling verses out of context and spewing them at those who have a different point of view? When did we forget that we are ALL created in the image of God?

As I read my Bible today, I once again thanked Him for always telling the truth. God keeps His promises. God never leaves us – even when we leave Him. He loves us beyond anything we could ever imagine.

We are so quick to tell everyone to pray for revival and a return to God. What we really mean is that other people should become like us. We rarely understand that the journey to revival begins with the person we see in the mirror each day.

Where do we start? We begin by loving other people. Really loving them. Praying for eyes to see them as Jesus sees them. We cling to faith and hope in the middle of the turmoil that has seemed to engulf our great nation. We take each step forward with love in our hearts as we follow Jesus on our journey home.

August 25, 2024

                    Start With Love

“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”

– Leviticus 19:33-34

They walk. They swim. They come by boat or cargo truck. They sacrifice everything, sometimes even their lives, to seek something better for themselves, their children and their extended families.

We don’t know their stories. We don’t care. We see the illegal crossings, the financial burden, the “threat” to what we erroneously see as ours. Our hardened hearts demand a stop to it all.

We are Christians.

Some conservatives rush to explain the Hebrew words and talk about illegal aliens and what this scripture really means. They are “justifying” hatred and lack of compassion.

Some liberals hurry to use these two verses as a reason to open the border completely and demand that our government provide unlimited money to help them all. Isn’t that what God would want, they ask.

Love. Maybe that’s the key word. Love. God loved us enough to send His Son to die on a cross for our sins. God is love. Jesus told us to love God and to love our neighbors.

But evil has dulled our senses to the point of hatred to all those who aren’t like us. We see it in the racial divide. We see it in the difference in neighborhoods and bank accounts. We “need” to be financially better than others. We “need” for everyone to be like us. We “need” to justify our hatred that we direct toward people we don’t even know.

This is a complicated issue with many, many points of view. Do we need to do something? Absolutely. But do not mock God by claiming faith and then turning away from those created in His image. In all things, show love and kindness and compassion. That is what God requires from us.

August 1, 2024

                                              Love or Hate?

If I speak in tongues of human beings and of angels but I don’t have love, I’m a clanging gong or a clashing cymbal.

– 1 Corinthians 13:1

The Apostle Paul wrote these words to a church that was fighting within itself. He was trying to teach fellow believers how to get along with each other.

We’re so familiar with this passage because it is frequently used at weddings. That was never Paul’s intention. I suppose it’s easier to think of this as being a wedding instruction rather than an admonition directed at the infighting we see today in our churches and in our country.

Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-5

It seems these days that I am always blocking things on social media that I don’t want to see from people I don’t even know. It breaks my heart that friends I care about, people I believe are good people, think it’s okay to share untruths and hate-filled diatribes against those who disagree with them.

Our country has turned on itself. We are so busy pointing fingers at each other, demanding that someone else turn back to God, that we’ve missed our own sins. We have failed to take the plank out of our own eyes.

Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. – 1 Corinthians 13:6

What is truth? Truly. Do you know? Have you read the Bible for yourself? Have you spent time in prayer asking and listening? Or are you merely passing on what someone else has told you? Are you holding on to hate and justifying yourself by proclaiming that it’s your opinion?

As people of God we are called to love, regardless of whether we agree with someone or not. We are called to be kind, even when someone else isn’t. We are called to be humble, not rude or self-seeking. Do others know of your faith by your words and actions?

Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love – but the greatest of these is love.

– 1 Corinthians 13:13

July 5, 2023

 

Free in Christ

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened against by a yoke of slavery. – Galatians 5:1

 

We are free to love Jesus. We are free to live according to His Word. We are free to love others and to worship and to grow more Christ-like. We are NOT free to condemn those who are different. We are NOT free to judge what we don’t understand and to choose who we think is worthy of His love and a place in Heaven.

 

We Christians are really good at pointing fingers. We stand up and talk about how we’ve prayed and come to the conclusion that certain people are condemned. We pray and justify our own black hearts not realizing that we have condemned ourselves.

 

My grandmother truly believed that the Bible said whites are the superior race. The Bible doesn’t say that but no one could ever convince her otherwise. I tried. I see the same thing happening today with other issues and it breaks my heart. Haven’t we learned anything?

 

Jesus doesn’t need you or I to help Him judge people. In fact, He told us we would be judged the same way we judge others. No excuses. So what did Jesus tell us to do? Love people. Be good to our enemies. Really pray for people.

 

Here’s the thing about prayer: We don’t have to know what to pray for. We don’t need to tell Jesus what someone else should do or how they need to behave or repent or whatever else we’ve decided is their issue. He knows what all of us needs. He alone truly knows the heart of each individual.

 

Don’t let anyone cast judgement on you from a biblical standpoint. No one but Jesus gets to tell you what the Bible really says and what it doesn’t. If a “Christian” gets on his high-horse and starts pointing fingers, point them right back. Odds are pretty good that he doesn’t know what the Bible actually says.

 

The Bible was never intended to be used as a weapon but rather as a tool to help us know God and follow Him. Don’t allow others to pull out verses or words and use them as weapons against you or anyone else. Christ set you free from the bondage caused by others. You believe and trust Him to handle the rest.

February 27, 2023

 

Love Like Jesus

 

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” -- John 13:34-35

 

What does love look like? I’m talking about the love Jesus had for us, the love He commanded us to have for others. When you consider that kind of love, what do you see?

 

Do you see the man who’s been unfaithful to his wife? Who is still being unfaithful? Do you see the woman who’s too busy gossiping to parent her children? Do you see the young woman with an “easy” reputation? Or the teenage boy who bullies those smaller than himself? What about the man with unethical business practices who brushes it all aside as “just business”? Do you see love when you look at these people?

 

The truth is that if those people look and talk like you and have solid economic status, you probably do. It’s easy to love those who are like us. It’s easy to ignore their sins and accept them. We may even agree with that businessman who believes that misleading people is okay so long as it’s not illegal.

 

Let’s look at another question: What does love look like when you don’t particularly like the other person? What does love look like when a baby cries incessantly throughout the worship service? What does love look like when you’re in a hurry to leave and an elderly person is blocking the way?

 

A few years ago, I asked my cousin why she and her husband stopped going to church. I was horrified at the reason. They were told that their adult daughter who had Down’s Syndrome was no longer welcome. This was a “child” who loved church with her whole heart, who tightly held the Bible she couldn’t read and listened intently to the pastor’s sermon each week. But because she sometimes “commented” on his words while he was preaching, she wasn’t welcome.

 

Love isn’t always easy. Sometimes it means accepting someone who makes us uncomfortable. Sometimes it’s loving someone in the midst of their sinful ways. Sometimes it’s extending the same grace and mercy Jesus has extended to us.

 

Who are you judging today? Who have you cast aside because of their “sin”? Who have you failed to love as Jesus loves us?

February 5, 2023

 

Stop Judging

 

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?

You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” – Matthew 7:1-5

 

It seemed like something no one could quibble with. The phrase was simple: Jesus didn’t have to agree with people to be kind to them. Who could argue? Indeed.

 

The comment came: He was good to everyone but He did not except (sp) their sins. And that, my friends, is the problem. Not that other people sin but that we are so focused on their sin that we miss our own.

 

Don’t worry. I didn’t get into it with her. I simply reminded her of what Jesus also said about not judging people and let Scripture make its point. She didn’t reply. There really wasn’t anything else to say.

 

I look around at all the people pulling away from church. I see people doubting Jesus. And, honestly, I understand why. If the only way they know Jesus is through some of His followers, well, it’s a sad thing. Not because we’re imperfect. Everyone has flaws and sins and makes numerous mistakes every single day. It’s that we don’t own our own issues while we loudly proclaim the sins of others.

 

I’ve read the Bible through several times in a number of different translations. No where in the Bible does it give us permission to judge others. If someone strays, we’re to lovingly guide them back. That’s far different than sitting on our self-made throne and throwing daggers at someone God loves just as much as He loves us.

 

Let’s remember that Jesus didn’t choose His disciples from the religious elite. He didn’t call on those who had all the answers. He found His disciples among normal people and outcasts who had hearts open to receive the Messiah. And even they got it wrong time and time again.

 

When you find yourself looking around and looking down on those you see, take a step back. Hit your knees. Ask God for forgiveness. And ask Him to help you remove the plank from your own eye so that you can more clearly see how to love others like He loves you.

 

 

January 23, 2023

 

Be A Church That Loves

 

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.

– 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

 

Our United Methodist Church is going through a discernment process right now. It isn’t pretty. The official reason is over “traditional values.” We are, in essence, going to vote about the loss of things that we haven’t yet lost. It is, as one member noted, like divorcing your wife because she might be unfaithful in the years to come.

 

That’s the official reason. The unofficial reason, the underlying issues, are money, power and control. Those who have stepped up and offered to “buy” the church back from the United Methodist Trust, are upset with a pastor who stands up to them. They are furious – and, yes, I witnessed the angry outburst – that their money doesn’t currently guarantee their control over what happens in the church.

 

The church is split, following one group or the other. Many haven’t bothered to research the issue on their own. They honestly don’t even realize that the United Methodist Church as actually fairly conservative. The are afraid of homosexuality, environmental issues and gun control discussions.

 

Church divisions aren’t new. The Apostle Paul addressed the divisions in the Corinth church with letters we know as 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians. Those books have taken on new meaning as the lies and misinformation fuel fears about what “might” happen. It seems that in all that discourse we have forgotten to love each other.

 

We think of 1 Corinthians 13 as the “wedding scripture” because we hear it often at weddings. The original text was written to a church that was fighting amongst itself. The members were tearing each other apart in their efforts to be right. They’d forgotten what Jesus said about loving each other.

 

My church is no different. The ugliness has nothing to do with Jesus. The foundation for this journey isn’t about doing God’s will or following the Bible. I pray that those involved, myself included, will open their hearts to truly discern the will of God.

July 27, 2022

 

A Church Divided

 

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will not stand.” – Matthew 12:25

 

The letter was nasty. It was made even more so because it came from a retired pastor who had served for many, many years. I suppose retirement unleashes all the pent-up anger that a serving pastor must not express. But, alas, the heart has a way of revealing itself.

 

The diatribe was racist, sexist and divisive. It was meant to destroy. It was aimed at the United Methodist Church where he had served for so many years.

 

Many rallied around in support of his words. A local, beloved pastor shared it as truth. As gospel. As an opinion we should all support. The entire spectacle was sad and disheartening.

 

Are we, as Bishop Graves said, true United Methodists or are we so focused on the “traditional” and “progressive” labels that we’ve lost our way? We are called by God, saved by Jesus and led by the Holy Spirit. We’ve lost sight of that.

 

There are days that I fear for our church. I fear for the body of believers who have become more like Pharisees and less like Jesus. They are focused on traditions and rules and self. They shout out Bible verses, refusing to acknowledge context or intent. It is impossible to reason with someone filled with anger and hatred. It is impossible to love others, even those who don’t look like us, when we are determined to push them away and keep them in “their place.”

 

Love. Such a simple word and yet so powerful. We focus on things of the world because we don’t truly have His love for others deep in our hearts. We resist change because we are determined to get our own way, regardless of the cost.

 

We are called to love others. We are challenged to go and make disciples. We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We are to assist the poor and the needy, widows and orphans. But when we focus on ourselves we miss all of that.

 

The United Methodist Church will survive. The body will divide into those who love and follow Jesus and those who love and follow themselves. It’s a hard truth and it hurts. But the church that Jesus Christ Himself began will live on until the day when He returns in His Glory.

July 16, 2022

 

Beloved

 

We love because He first loved us. – 1 John 4:19

 

It’s amazing what an adult remembers from childhood. The words that can stick and replay more than half a century later. A psychiatrist – my Mother’s doctor – told me I’d always have a difficult time with relationships because I didn’t have a model of what love is. Powerful words for an already broken teen.

 

He was right in so many ways. An unwanted child has no concept of what love and acceptance looks like. But he wasn’t counting on Jesus. Maybe that psychiatrist didn’t know God’s love.

 

But God Almighty met me in that dark place and placed His Spirit inside of me. And that made all the difference.

 

Was I miraculously healed? No. Did I struggle at times? Without a doubt. I was broken in ways that only Jesus could put back together. But He did put me back together. I do know what love looks like – and it was nothing like my childhood.

 

I have stumbled more times than I can count. I have made countless mistakes. I have repeatedly chosen people who said all the right things and then betrayed me because I didn’t know that I deserved more than the crumbs of affection I was given.

 

But Jesus never left me. Ever. When all the world condemned and cursed me for not being enough, Jesus stayed by my side. He held me close. He showed me what true love looks like.

 

Don’t ever settle for less than what you deserve. You are a child of God, beloved beyond anything you could imagine. When the dark world closes in and seeks to destroy you, hang on to Him. Jesus will never let you down.

June 20, 2022

 

Change Starts with You

 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. – Galatians 5:22-23

 

What does kindness mean to you? If you are kind to someone else, do you expect accolades or at least reciprocation? Do you tell everyone about your wonderful deed?

 

What about patience? Are you patient with others as God is patient with you? Or do you get in a hurry, yelling and gesturing at other drivers or bad-mouthing the fast-food worker for not performing to your expectations?

 

Are you faithful to God ALL the time or only when it’s convenient? Do you show up for church, volunteer, tithe and study the Bible only when it fits into your busy schedule? Do you explain away your good intentions even as another week goes by?

 

We’ve all been talking about guns and gun violence. We’ve pointed fingers and blamed mental illness, all the while clinging to our own rights and views. We’ve told others they need to change but we refuse to open our minds to our responsibilities.

 

This is not where I lecture you on guns or the poor or even on going to church. I support the Second Amendment, giving to the poor and attending church each week. But mostly I advocate for change in how we treat other people each and every day. That’s where change starts. Not in Washington or in other political groups. It doesn’t even start in the “church” as we call it. Change begins with you and me and when we change, when we become more like Jesus, the world around us begins to change too.

 

Yesterday we studied the Fruit of the Spirit, found in Galatians. We didn’t focus on the things we shouldn’t do. Instead, we focused on what we as individuals could do to bring change within our own hearts so that it ripples out into the world.

 

Growing fruit seems so easy. Start with love and everything else flows from that. But we have trouble loving people who aren’t like us. We don’t particularly want to accept people who don’t look like us or talk like us or, let’s get real here, are born into our country to parents who have been here a while.

 

What would happen if we stopped judging people? What would change if we intentionally loved those around us, including those we don’t agree with and those who maybe haven’t met our expectations of what living a good life really looks like?

 

Jesus said we are the light of the world. Each day we have a choice. We can love and, in so doing, be living examples of the Fruit of the Spirit. Or we can remain self-focused, determined to keep our own best interests ahead of what God actually tells us to do.

 

Do you want to change what’s wrong with the world? Look in the mirror. That’s the person you start with.

February 9, 2022

 

Slow Down

 

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

– 1 John 4:7

 

“I don’t belong here.” Those were my first thoughts as I waited for the nurse. I was just getting a shot. That was all. But as I looked around, all I saw were people with chemo drugs running into their veins. My heart swelled up with compassion and, honestly, with thankfulness. I know how easily I could have been one of them.

 

Timing is everything. How often have we heard that? My cancer was caught early. Their cancers were more invasive, further along, maybe the type that is aggressive. What my cancer would have become had it not been for an early diagnosis. What it could become should it ever return.

 

We talk a lot about being kind. We know kindness is a Fruit of the Spirit but, honestly, we get so caught up in our lives, our own agendas, our own timetables, that we push past those who are struggling. We don’t know what others are going through and deep inside we really don’t want to know. Our lives are filled to overflowing and we don’t want the burden of carrying someone else’s sorrow.

 

Jesus carried our sorrow. He died for our sins, which includes our selfishness. We know life isn’t about us but we so desperately want it to be. We know we’re supposed to love others but that requires time and attention and compassion. How can we manage it all?

 

The Bible tells us to love others. It doesn’t tell us to focus on the cares of this world. It tells us to slow down and focus on what’s important. People are important. Sometimes all anyone really needs is a hug, a card, a heartfelt prayer or simply to be seen. When was the last time you really looked at someone and saw their heart? Slow down. Pay attention. Love others like Jesus loves you.

January 19, 2022

 

Destruction

 

“Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.” – Luke 11:35 (ESV)

 

Where is your line? At what point do you destroy relationships rather than accept what you cannot understand? What, and who, are you willing to give up in your quest to be right?

 

We are great at pointing out what we see as the sins of others. We throw Bible quotes out to prove our point. Being a homosexual is a sin. It’s unacceptable and unforgiveable. It’s a “choice,” we spew. Change and be healed, we demand. But what if God allowed this to change our own hearts?

 

It’s amazing how we pick and choose which Bible verses to quote. We all do it. I did it up above. But when those quotes are meant to harm, to condemn, to push forth our views rather than the views of Jesus, perhaps we need to look inward rather than focus so keenly on our target.

 

We gloss over the passages that condemn divorce. We slide past the words that tell us to welcome immigrants, give to the poor and bring strangers into our homes. We don’t want to share. We don’t want to extend grace. We don’t want to be inconvenienced.

 

Yes, we have to be careful. Our world is filled with people who would harm us. There are multitudes who would take advantage of our generosity. But do we use those excuses to refuse God’s will? Do we demand that we not be made uncomfortable when Jesus again and again did things that would make us uncomfortable?

 

I have watched a sweet family be torn apart by a homosexual child. The hardness, the ugliness, has broken so many hearts even as it has splintered what once seemed to be a happy, loving family. Is love only available to those who do as we demand? Does love end when people make us uncomfortable?

 

Where does your light end and darkness begin? Be careful. Sometimes darkness masquerades as light.

January 18, 2022

 

Love

 

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

– Romans 12:18

 

To get a vaccine or not? To accept the presidential election results or not? To welcome illegal immigrants or not? The list never ends. We are a country at odds within itself.

 

God’s people have been ugly and vocal. They have reigned down criticism and aligned themselves with one side or another. Everyone knows what is best. Just ask them. Except they are all so focused on themselves that it is impossible to truly see God in them.

 

Ah, there is the true problem. Seeing God. It’s impossible to truly see Him when you are hurling angry insults at people who disagree with you. It’s impossible to truly hear God when your ugly words are aimed to tear apart anyone who dares disagree with you. It’s impossible to love like Jesus when your eyes are filled with hatred toward anyone who disagrees with you.

 

We have become a nation filled with arrogant people who have lost sight of God. Oh, we shout His name. We quote scripture and serve diligently. But our hearts? Well, our hearts don’t even know His name.

 

The saddest thing for me in the last couple of years hasn’t been Covid. It hasn’t been election results or isolation or illegal immigrants. The saddest thing has been listening to people I truly believed were God’s people ranting at those who don’t share their viewpoints. The ugliness is appalling. And for what end?

 

It’s possible to share different views without turning hateful and mean. It’s possible to live under the banner of love and service and still disagree. If you’ve got ugliness in your heart, I wonder if you truly know Him. It becomes less about your opinion and more about your arrogant belief that you are like God.

 

Hatred and God cannot exist in the same heart. Why? Because God is love. (1 John 4)

July 18, 2021

 

God Doesn’t Have Favorites

 

Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.” – Acts 10:34-35

 

I’ve never understood why some Americans believe that God favors the United States above all other nations except, perhaps, Israel. It’s not in the Bible. In fact, we are told again and again that God loves everyone equally. Yet some cling tightly to the belief that we are somehow favored above all others.

 

That belief fuels so much discord and hatred. We look down on people who speak in a different language or have different cultures. We angrily condemn the poor as “lazy” and the unwed mother as “promiscuous.” We don’t know their stories but we judge and condemn them as though we do.

 

“Not in my neighborhood,” we shout. “Stay out of our country,” we spew. “We don’t want that kind in our church,” we explain. “They should help themselves,” we insist. We are full of justifications and excuses for why refuse to do what God commanded us to do.

 

Love people. Welcome people. Extend a helping hand. Not send money to a foreign land or pray for someone while keeping them far away and not telling people they are welcome after they clean up their lives. We don’t want to be inconvenienced. We don’t want to actually do the work. We don’t want to kneel down and wash another’s feet.

 

We are better than others. It’s what we believe in our hearts. Except those same hearts are getting judged by the only One who truly sees. What does God see when He looks into your hearts?

June 14, 2021

 

Love Reflects Jesus

 

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

– John 13:34-35

 

Ugliness abounds. Hateful comments. Snide remarks. Lies meant to bring harm and discord. Hatred clothed in opinion narratives. The saddest thing? These are sins from people who claim to follow Jesus.

 

The hardest part of the past couple of years has been watching friends I truly believed to be strong Christians fall into this ugliness. It’s not about politics. I don’t care what your opinion is. I do care deeply about how you express that opinion. It breaks my heart to see people cast aside simply because they disagree with someone. Who are we to judge?

 

We are no one. The Bible tells us not to judge. But we do. All the time, in every way imaginable. Race, religion, sexual orientation, political views, economic status. We almost don’t need a reason to spew ugliness about another person. What does that say about us?

 

Our lives are meant to reflect Jesus to a dark and hurting world. Every time we allow ourselves to point fingers or share ugly words, we remind others of why they don’t want to know Jesus. Who would invite that kind of hatred into their own lives?

 

Except Jesus has nothing to do with hatred. It’s always important to remember that when He got angry it was at the religious elite who were so busy being “right” that they missed their Savior.

 

The next time you’re tempted to toss out your “opinion” consider how Jesus might react to hearing those words. If it’s not about loving others as He does, then just keep your thoughts to yourself.

May 26, 2021

 

Love People

 

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

– 1 John 4:7-8

 

We are a nation at war with ourselves, so busy pointing fingers that we fail to see the sin in our own hearts. Do you call yourself a Christian? Do you love Jesus? Truly? Then where is all that hate coming from?

 

I am so tired of hearing people claim to “love everyone” because that’s what the Bible says to do. They’ll tell you that quick. They are just empty words that don’t influence their own hearts nor anyone else’s heart.

 

“It’s just my opinion.” Hollow words offered up when a Christian is criticized for being so ugly. Evil hearts don’t come from Jesus. Hatred has no part in loving Him.

 

We have forgotten that it’s okay to like people who are different from us. God made each of us to be unique. Different colors, different nationalities, different opinions. Why do we have such a difficult time accepting people just the way that God created them?

 

And why do we think God needs our help to judge and condemn them, using the Bible as a weapon to hurt and to harm instead of to teach and heal. Let me remind us all that the Pharisees were the religious elite but they were so busy being “right” that they missed the Savior standing directly in front of them.

 

Love people. It’s not always easy but it’s what we are called to do.

July 17, 2020

Wear the Mask

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. – Philippians 2:3

Before the mask controversy, the “thing” to promote was kindness. Be kind to one another. We don’t know what others are going through. Give encouragement. Smile.

How quickly we forget.

Refusing to wear a mask is a straight way of saying you don’t care about anyone but yourself. Period.

Right now many are reading these words with stiffened backs and scowls on their faces. They’re busy defending themselves and proclaiming the name of Jesus to do it. God is love. That’s what John says. So how can you love someone and not care about whether they contract an awful virus that could kill them or leave them with permanent health issues?

I don’t want to hear about the flu. It’s not the same thing. Yes. The flu can kill. I once had a young, healthy co-worker die from the flu. She was in one of the best hospitals in the nation and they couldn’t save her. So, yes, I know the flu can kill.

But we don’t see the numbers of hospitalizations with the flu. We don’t see patients struggling for weeks on ventilators. We don’t witness this kind of devastation.

Scientists and doctors don’t agree on everything but they do agree almost totally that masks will help stop the spread of this virus. It keeps asymptomatic people from spreading it to others. You can have Covid 19 and not know it. You can spread it to everyone you come into contact with and not know it. That’s why you wear a mask. Yes. Wearing a mask helps keep you safe. But the main reason you wear a mask is to protect others. And, frankly, most people just don’t care about others.

So, don’t tell me you love Jesus and then demand your “right” to not wear a mask. You have to decide who you will serve: yourself or the God who loves us all and tells us to put others before ourselves.

February 9, 2020

What About You?

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. – 1 John 4:11

He rarely makes a political comment. It’s just brings too much controversy. But he made an exception. The wrath was quick and vicious. Why can we no longer have a civil conversation about politics? Why must hatred always rear its ugly head?

We turn politicians into idols. We allow ourselves to be drawn away from Jesus, all the while telling ourselves that we’re doing His will. Hatred is never Jesus’ will.

Others insist that they love everyone then they turn to ugliness if someone disagrees with them. Didn’t we learn anything from Jesus’ time on this earth? Haven’t we understood His teachings about love? Thank God Jesus didn’t treat us the way His self-titled followers treat those who disagree with them.

Don’t be misled to believe that only one political party loves and honors Jesus. None of us get it all right or all wrong. It’s impossible to truly to defend the innocent – such as an unborn child – and condemn the very immigrants God told us to welcome. It’s not about laws; it’s about heart. God looks at the heart.

I really don’t care what your political beliefs might be. Many of my close friends and I disagree on political issues. So what? Love remains. Respect remains. Discussion remains. We are only able to love and grow in our faith when we can truly hear and be open to opinions that differ from our own.

Do you think this doesn’t apply to you? That’s what the Pharisees thought. They were so busy being “right” that they missed the Messiah. What about you?

May 8, 2019

Do You Understand?

“Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.” – Exodus 23:9

How quick we are to pick and choose which of the Old Testament verses we’ll apply to our thoughts and opinions. We look past those verses that differ from what we choose to believe. “Foreigners” are judged and rejected without an ounce of compassion.

We justify our low opinions based on the rantings of a few. Foreigners must work, we demand. They must refrain from sin, we spout. They must follow our laws and our opinions and take the lowliest of jobs and stay with their own kind and, well, you get it. We excuse our bad behavior, throwing out the instances of crime that happen. Oh, that we would condemn similar crimes among people like us.

The hard truth is that we will always reject those who are different from us. We aren’t interested in debate or compassion or actually reaching out to someone who merely needs a helping hand. We prefer to stay in our comfortable recliners, watching Fox News and using evil tongues to throw out Bible verses proclaiming a gospel we clearly don’t understand.

Jesus told us to love one another. How dare we think that He somehow meant we get to pick and choose who. Shame on us all.