Day 6 - Love everyone as your neighbour

Differences and Fears

Are what divides us. Think about it, the borders of our countries, division of states, even right down to white picket fences dividing you and your neighbours.
Differences in thoughts, ideals, wants, needs. And maybe that breeds the fear in us. The suspicions and the doubts towards others.
Separation, and so if you think about it, to love your neighbours, might just a tad of a problem. Could you love a stranger? Someone you met maybe for 2 minutes, or even less.

But theres one thing we need to remember

And that His blood was for us.

Everyone.

God loves everyone.
Consider Kanye West, who so famously who so famously walked on stage and humilated Taylor Swift at a Music Award Show.

And so the bulk of us would think 5 things:
1)“Kanye West always does that. He’s got a history of doing that kind of thing.”

2)“Kanye West probably did that on purpose, it was staged. He planned it.”

3)“Kanye West just wounded a teenager, a kid, that is horrible.”

4)“Anyone who supports him is dumb.”

5)“He’ll probably apologize but it won’t be real.”

“Kanye West always does that. He’s got a history of doing that kind of thing.”
So do I. I’ve never committed a single sin, a single time. I am a repeat offender. I have a longer history with sin than Kanye does with running on stage at events. Have you ever repeated a sin more than once?

“Kanye West probably did that on purpose, it was staged. He planned it.”
My worst moments were planned. I didn’t fall down the stairs and suddenly find myself landing in a heap of unexpected garbage at the bottom. I made plans. I was deliberate. I set things up that at the time seemed to be what I needed. I did the things that crippled my life on purpose.

“Anyone who supports him is dumb.”
Do you have to support to show love? Do you have to condone to offer grace and forgiveness? Clearly Proverbs spells out a million reasons you shouldn’t support fools and foolish behavior and what Kanye did was foolish. And it'd be equally dumb to judge people for judging Kanye. Are there only two options though? We love him which means we’re pro “running on stage and hurting people” or we hate him? Can’t we disagree with the behavior and offer love to the person? (I think I just invented the phrase, “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” I should put that on t-shirts.)

“He’ll probably apologize but it won’t be real.”
According to whose standards? Mine? Is that what Christ says is the second most important commandment in Matthew 22:39 “Love your neighbor as yourself, only if their apology is legitimate and you feel that their repentance is real?” Or is it written, “Rebuke your neighbor as yourself?” Or is love the thing we’re supposed to do? And let’s be honest, what are the chances that I get to heaven and God says, “You offered too many hurting people grace. You over graced the world Gerald. That is whack.”

The more I thought about it, the harder it was to hate Kanye.
Maybe you laughed at how silly and insignificant the whole thing was because it's just a bunch of celebrities, who cares. Maybe you threw on Kanye's “Jesus Walks” and got down like the awkward girl from the rich part of town that inexplicably moves to the inner city high school and has to learn how to dance to survive some sort of all girl gang but ends up falling in love with a tough on the outside by soft and tender on the inside street youth while learning the valuable lesson that if you believe in yourself, anything is possible.

Maybe that was your reaction.

Mine was hate.

And I hate that.

And I love that God loves me like He loves Kanye.

Because we all both in desperate need of it.