Love

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. John 13: 34

Our world seems to talk a lot about love, but we don't really do anything about loving.

Hateful speech is beyond the "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" phase, because words can and do harm people everyday.

Do we take that idea too far sometimes; are we maybe a little too sensitive?  Sure.  That's not good either, and actually gives the speaker the satisfaction of hurting us.

Maybe it would help if we try to hear what the speaker says before coming to a quick judgement.  Maybe we can try to learn why hateful and ugly speech is used.  Maybe there is an opportunity to help someone learn before we fire back.

Just as we should be slow to anger, we should be sure to speak up.  Silence provides approval or at least gives the speaker the idea their ideas are in favor.  A quiet question of the word or phrase, a gentle rebuke will work so much better than a rash response.

If it seems like there is more hateful speech now, it is likely our society is more cognizant of things that hurt others.  As a child and teen, there were all kinds of thing that were commonly said that most people wouldn't think of repeating now.  That's a good thing in my opinion.  

Little words that tear down others to make us look bigger are defense mechanisms frequently used by folks afraid of those they don't know.  Those words are said to groups of people, but individuals hear them.  Individuals who are more like us than we might realize.  Whether folks live in Russia, Ukraine, Iraq, or the United States - most hopes and dreams are universal - hopes to raise a family in safety, provide food and shelter, and see kids grow up.

Yet, it becomes incredibly easy to think about those who might be different than us as enemies and if they are enemies then we think its OK to demean them.

My point isn't that we can't disagree.  That can and will happen - discussions might be heated.  But at the end of the day, Jesus calls us to love.  As He loved us.  That, my friends, is a very high standard.  A call to love even if we don't share their values.

This blog won't solve any of these problems, and neither of us can solve them on are own.  What we can do, however, is try to learn more about others; listen, respond with kindness and love.