It is so easy to be angry at someone when they "sin" or do something that we don't approve of. Maybe our kids get into drugs and alcohol. Maybe a brother or sister or friend was unfaithful in their marriage and caused great devastation to their family. Perhaps you know someone that physically hurt someone you love, or even murdered them. Maybe, your own parents abused you. Or, perhaps , like me, a parent killed themselves due to desperation and unhappiness. Whatever it may be, when sin comes into the lives of loved ones or into our lives, it's so easy to "hate" the person who did it. I mean, after all, they are the ones who did it. This is a challenge to us all....to hate the sin committed, but to love the person (or the sinner) still. Did Jesus actually say the words "hate the sin but love the sinner"? No, he did not say that exact thing. But if you study his life and other things he said and the way he treated sinners, you can conclude safely that Jesus was saying that...through his actions and love. I found this quote recently concerning this idea and thought it summarized my thoughts as well.
"Your friend is correct, Jesus never said hate the sin, love the sinner. But he needs to spend more time studying the life of Jesus because that’s the way He lived. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus re-defined sin to a previously unheard of level, sayng that thinking about sinning is as bad as doing it, but He was frequently accused of fraternizing with sinners, and in fact spent most of His time with them. With the woman caught in the act of adultery, He refused to condemn her but told her to stop sinning. (John 8:11) Same with the crippled man the He healed. (John 5:14) He never condoned the sin, but He never condemned the sinner. His goal in dealing with them was always reconciliation"
We can clearly see that Jesus always showed love or loved a person despite their sin, and he would help a person and tell them to "sin no more". I think we can do the same. Love someone despite their "sin" or what they say or do. Does this mean we are agreeing with what they say or do. Nope. We may actually hate what they say, do, or do not do. But we have to learn to seperate what their actions are we don't like...and them as a person. When we say we don't like someone...we really do not like what they do or say. Can we learn to still love the person and not like their actions? I think this is possible. We just have to seperate it and only God can help us do that. As we draw nearer to God through prayer and spending time with him, through fellowship/church which helps us grow and learn to deal with peoples faults....and through reading his word...He will teach us and help us do this.
One final thought, and I go to this verse when I struggle with this very thing.
"But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..." Jesus goes further to say to do good to those that harm us and bless those that do evil to us.
It's a challenge but it's possible to Love someone but not like what they do!
Be Blessed Today as you learn to love more!
In Christ's Amazing Love,
~M~
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