Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.
Romans 12:9
We hear much about LOVE these days, but it does not seem to be a reality when you consider the problems in our society. You cannot help but feel that it is all “talk” with very little “walk”.
For instance, there is this chapter of Romans (12) that hits us right smack between the eyes. It deals with our relationship to society in light of the fact that we make the claim of being Christians. We pacify our conscience with gifts to the needy materially. When someone gave a lift to a lady and carried her home it made headlines. While it was deserving of recognition, I was wondering about the number of people who passed by with the equal of “I gave at work!”
I realize that the fears and legalities of our society are such that it makes us think, and think again about things that used to be normal courtesy, Christian or not. Someone said: “Love at your fingertips.” There are things that can be done to show our “love” if we think beyond those fears and legalities. One of the things I always thought about while in Alaska, was how people would never pass a person that was alone, or in car trouble. Do it in the “South 48” and you can become a hero!
Basically, that word in Romans 12:9, hypocrisy, contains the idea of “discriminative”. It carries with it the idea of selectivity. Do not show ourselves, in the process of showing love, that we only do it to some people. The apostle is saying, do it to those who cannot reward you, to those who do not look like you, to those who cannot afford to dress like you, to those you may never see again or get a thank you note from; the list is endless.
By the way, we should not have to wait for someone to call us or a Radio/TV program alert us for the special occasions. It should come as a natural outgrowth of our inward transformation since Christ became our Savior and Lord!
Think on Romans 12!
ETCetera 