How to Love in a World Full of Hate
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“’…which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?’ And he said, ‘He who showed mercy on him.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise’” (Luke 10:36-37).
A few years ago, my wife and I were vacationing at Lake George with some friends. One afternoon we were leaving our favorite spot for cappuccino and scones, dodging tourists milling about everywhere and going in and out of little shops. As we stepped out onto the street, we saw a young-20 something man, convulsing, vomiting and dry-heaving all over himself, and crying out for help. He was dirty with unclean clothes, unwashed hair, and appeared homeless, maybe even drug addicted. Scores of people walked by without a glance.
And at first glance, my instinct was to get away from a potentially dangerous situation, but it quickly became clear that he was in crisis and needed help.
My friend and I went over to him, sat him up, and got some paper towels and water. We called an ambulance and tried to find out what was wrong. He clearly was not in his right mind, but told us that he left his seizure medication at home and needed it, otherwise he might die. We assured him that help was on the way, and within minutes the EMT arrived, whisked him to the hospital. As we waited for the ambulance, he kept saying to us, “you were the only ones who stopped to help! Thank you, thank you!”
Honestly, this situation was a bit out of my comfort zone, but this was a human being who needed assistance and I had an obligation to help him, regardless.
Now imagine for a moment, if that young man was someone I hated before I ever laid eyes on him. Imagine if I hated people, in general, because of the color of their skin, their political affiliation, their gender identity, their beliefs about abortion, immigration, health care, religion, or any other reason that has become a justification for hate in our society. He may have died.
As long as we are convinced in our minds that we are right and are justified in our hateful words or actions, we cease following the Master.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:43-45).
Or the words of the Apostle John:
“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” (1 John 4:20).
And how often do we try to grasp and justify our hatred by focusing on a narrow definition of the word “brother,” while ignoring the spiritual principle God wants us to embrace?
“Justifiable hate” is not a new social construct of modern life; it has been around since Cain and Able, and was precisely what Jesus addressed with the parable of the Good Samaritan. During this time when Satan is busy pushing our “justifiable hate” buttons, we can keep ourselves grounded and following Christ by emulating the behavior of the Good Samaritan.
Right Question, Wrong Motive
“And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’” (Luke 10:25).
Clearly, the man was not asking Jesus because he really wanted to know the answer. He asked Jesus this question because he despised, possibly even hated, the people Jesus was teaching and inviting to receive eternal life.
Jesus was reaching out to sinners, publicans, wine bibbers, gluttons, prostitutes, even lepers, and inviting them to come to God to receive eternal life. They were accepting His invitation in droves.
But Jesus’ message was an affront to what this expert in the Law believed about inheriting eternal life. He believed that one’s righteous conduct gets you into heaven, and these people have been disqualified from receiving eternal life. So he confronted Jesus deceptively to test Him, possibly to trap Him, into saying something that could be used against Him.
“He [Jesus] said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?’ So he answered and said, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ And He said to him, ‘You have answered rightly; do this and you will live’” (Luke 10:26-28).
It is the foundation of the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you! But the Golden Rule is not just limited to “some” others. It’s not do unto others who believe like you, vote like you, look like you, grew up like you, watch the same news channels as you, eat the same food like you, have the same morals as you. It’s just an unqualified “others.”
Demonstrate love even to people foaming at the mouth and vomiting on themselves on the side of the road.
Jesus says to us, yes, exactly… do that.
Who’s Who in the Neighborhood
“But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’” (Luke 10:29).
By this time, the rabbis taught that one’s neighbor was only another Jew, and some of the laws they created reflected this prejudice. For example, if, on the Sabbath, a wall should happen to collapse on a person passing by, enough of the fallen wall could be cleared to see whether the injured person was a Jew or a Gentile. If he appeared to be a Jew, he may be rescued. If he was a Gentile, he must be left.
Pharisees even believed that not just any Jew was one’s neighbor, but only those who followed the laws to a T and were ceremonially clean could qualify as a neighbor.
So I believe the man was really saying to Jesus, come on, why are you including people like these here in your definition of neighbor? You are violating the law! But Jesus rejected his agenda, and by humanizing the Samaritan man (a mixed race that Jewish people generally avoided and despised) by highlighting his goodness, compassion, and mercy, taught them all how to love in a world of hate.
Enlarge Your Tent
“Neighbor” generally connotes proximity, or someone who resides near to someone else. But it also can mean someone who believes, thinks, dresses, and speaks in a similar way.
In Jesus’ day, people’s criteria for engagement or relationship, for kindness, civility, and even for care, was, do they live near me and believe what I believe? So Jesus had to first “enlarge the tent” of who should be considered as a neighbor.
“Then Jesus answered and said: ‘A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead’” (Luke 10:30).
“A certain man.” The wounded man in the story was a faceless figure whose occupation, nationality, religion, race, and political affiliation were not obvious.
“Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side” (Luke 10:30).
If the priest or the Levite could have been able to discern if the wounded man was a Jew, maybe they would have stopped to help, but in this case, they couldn’t. There were two primary ways to tell someone’s ethnicity, race or religion in that time and place: by their clothes and by their accent. But this victim had been stripped of clothing and beaten unconscious.
What was Jesus doing? He forced the listeners to confront what was actually important to God. Race, clothing, speech, was not what God wanted from His people, but basic human compassion and love.
So they needed to greatly expand their understanding of who is actually a neighbor, and so should we. It’s really much more difficult to hate when you allow people access to your life. You can see beyond the unimportant things that divide us, and appreciate everyone who has been created in the image of God.
Reject Your Loopholes
Some readers may, even now, be looking for loopholes, thinking but Pastor! What about…
- People who support that crazy political candidate?
- People who believe in false gods…or no god at all?
- People who have tuned out of life entirely, and prefer to live under a bridge and do drugs?
- People who have more money than they’ll ever need, and zero compassion for the rest of us?
Surely these people are not my neighbor! God cannot expect me to love these people like myself!
Isn’t that what the man was trying to do by asking Jesus the question, “and who is my neighbor?” He was trying to use their laws to justify restricting his love and compassion to only certain people. What are you trying to use to restrict who you show neighborly or brotherly love to?
I’m not talking about compromising Truth; I am talking about caring for people that God cares about. It doesn’t mean I won’t stand up for Biblical truth. But I also won’t simply write people off because I feel they made bad personal choices and are experiencing the consequences of them. I will love people and show them compassion, mercy and assistance when they need it, simply because they are another human being. And if it means that I must make personal sacrifices for the sake of a stranger, so be it. Sacrifice for others is a benchmark of true Christianity.
In order to love in a world of hate, stop looking for loopholes; rather look for opportunities to express the love of God.
Respond with Empathy
Empathy is the ability to put yourself in the shoes of another, to understand, even if you have never been there personally, so that you can have compassion and respond with kindness toward someone else in crisis. It means, as Jesus said, to love your neighbor as yourself.
And is not this the heart of God’s relationship with us?
Jesus walked in our shoes. He understands how we feel as he experienced hunger, rejection and separation. He understands exhaustion, injustice and betrayal. And He can empathize with any situation we humans encounter, and yet responds with the mercy and grace of God.
Since this is the essence of our relationship with God, it should also be the essence of our relationship with others.
When people are in a crisis, they don’t care who stops to help them, what they believe, if they are on the right side or morality or not – they just need someone with sufficient empathy to help them get out of danger.
If we are honest, most of us fail miserably at expanding our tent, rejecting the loopholes, and empathizing so we can respond appropriately. We are not good at loving others in a world full of hate, because we haven’t fully grasped the love that God has had for us.
In truth, Jesus is the Good Samaritan in all of our stories, and we are the victim of sin, beaten down, half-dead, and taken to safety for healing and restoration. Every time we get in a mess, He redeems us from that as well. Because of love, He keeps paying, keeps forgiving, and keeps delivering.
When we can receive that love in the fullness of what it has done for us, we will be able to love in a world of hate.
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