Devotion 

Love Thy Neighbor 

Frances Taylor 

I find this passage interesting. Hate goes against God's laws. God is love, so there is no hate in God. Even in the story of Cain and Abel, God marks Cain so that no one will kill him. So how can we hate? It's okay not to like someone, we all do that, but hate implies that we wish someone evil. That's not okay.

To love our neighbor means that we don't wish him any evil. This doesn't mean that we have to approve everything our neighbor does. No, not at all, in fact this passage tells us it's okay to rebuke someone, even a friend or family member and not get involved in behavior contrary to God's law. Going back to Cain and Abel, revenge is also contrary to God's will for us. So much violence would be avoided if people didn't seek revenge.

As I mentioned the other day, today, a person who feels disrespected often gathers friends to "get even" with that person. This leads to a larger group of friends getting even with the others and so on and so on. Feuds of this sort have become commonplace among many groups of young people as we have become such a "them" and "us" society. Some feuds seem to last one generation to the next and often people don't even remember when the bad feelings began, nor do they know the cause. How do you want to be treated? How do I? If I want to be treated kindly, with respect, then it is my responsibility to treat others the same. It's not always easy to love those we don't like, but that's what God not only expects of us, but commands.

Prayer 

Compassionate God, you love us all in spite of our weaknesses and sinfulness. Help us to treat others with the same compassion with which you treat us. Amen.