Seriously, Folks...

Ok, I just have to get this off my chest, because it is driving me batty:  there is never ever a time when "hate" is a better option than "love."

Yes, we will disagree--ferociously, even--and yes, people will do wrong by us, and that will suck, but we can't be responsible for everyone else.  We can and should, however, be responsible for ourselves.  We can always choose how to respond to the things that people do to us, or say about us, or that offend us even on a larger scale.  And, if we can always choose, then, if we're doing things correctly, we must always choose the path that reflects love.

And here's another thing: I am sick and tired and depressed and angry at people who use faith as a way to mask their hate and prejudice.  So often, Jesus gets a bad name because so many people who claim faith and unerring loyalty to Him treat others as if they are second class, at best, and, all too frequently, as if they're the scum of the earth.

Mahatma Gandhi was right on target, in soooo many cases, when he made this assertion: "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians.  Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

This truly makes me sad.

Now, I want to be clear here: I believe that there are people out there who genuinely believe that the things that they believe direct them toward a certain understanding of others who aren't like them in some way or another.  They even genuinely believe that this is a reflection and/or manifestation of they're faithfulness.  I don't want to question the extent to which their beliefs are genuine.  I just want to question their beliefs.

And yes, I am well-aware that there are things in the Bible that are widely open to interpretation, and that things get a little bit dicey as a result.

But, unless I've been reading the Bible incorrectly for years, there is nowhere that God doesn't require, or that Jesus doesn't demonstrate, unconditional love.  Unconditional.  You know, without condition.  So, without regard to things that you can't even control (your race, your gender, your interests and, depending on whose side you're on, your sexual preference) AND ALSO without regard to the things you CAN  control (your career, your sins, and, depending on whose side you're on, your sexual preference).

Again, that doesn't mean we can't disagree.  Jesus' life also makes that perfectly clear.  But disagreeing, accountability, really hard conversations...none of that has to be done with an attitude of hatefulness.

Again, yes, I'm aware that, as sinful people, we struggle with a multitude of things that, unfortunately, can and do include our passing judgment on others, and treating others in a way that is most certainly not unconditionally loving.  I've done it.  You've done it.  We'll both do it again.  But, again, I'm no longer satisfied with making excuses for myself, or for anyone else, because we're sinners and we're doomed to a life of sinfulness.  While it's true that I'm a sinner, again, as I said above, I can choose how to live my life.  I can choose to work toward loving people unconditionally.  I can choose to be humble enough to admit when I've failed.  I can choose to learn how to listen, rather than judge.  I can choose to pray, each morning, or each time I encounter someone who I struggle to love well, or as often as it takes, to ask God to remove those thoughts and emotions, and to replace them with thoughts and emotions that convey love.

Oh, and it has to be genuine love, by the way.  I don't care who you are: people can see right through you when you're not genuine.

If we could take 10 or 15 seconds to get off our high horses, and stop being Self-Righteous, Holier-Than-Thou, and just plain Better Than You, we might realize that the very people we treat with disdain could've been our best friends, if we'd just given them the chance.  And, perhaps they might've asked us a question about our faith.  And then, perhaps, God might've used us as an outlet through which that person's heart might be changed to love and serve Him well.  How can hate ever accomplish that?

Initially, I was going to close this by saying that I was stepping down off of my soap box (by the way: ever wonder where that saying originated?  I did. Turns out it's exactly what you think: people literally used boxes of soap for their platform when speaking).

Annnnnyway, I don't think this is a soap box off of which I can step.  Because, while it's obvious that we can never, ever agree on everything, to me, there is absolutely no way that we can truly be faithful if we can't agree on these, the greatest commandments:  LOVE the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and LOVE your neighbor as yourself.