Monday 15 April 2013

I have no opinion on that ... anymore

From the time I was sixteen, maybe earlier, I had very strong opinions on a great diversity of topics, including the environment, youth and alcohol, homelessness and probably politics and religion, things that I knew very little about.  If you sat still long enough I would give you a passionate speech about the latest injustice or global controversy and going to University just fuelled this passion for debate and argument.

Until recently I had fairly definite beliefs about success, homosexuality, women liberation, marriage, family, faith, equal rights, racism etc, all of which I was confident I was right about.  Slowly all of these ideas I held tight are giving way to one simple idea, which is love. 

 

One of my all time favourite books of the Bible is James, and in Chapter 3 Verses 17 and 18 it says "Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterised by getting along with others.  It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced.  You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honour" (MSG).


What if we all just stop for one minute, stop thinking about ourselves and what we deem as right, and feel love towards the people we are bagging, judging, bullying, mocking, abusing or ignoring, how different would your world look?

I am becoming far less opinionated on nearly all topics.  Does this mean I stand for nothing; absolutely not, I stand for love, which is everything. Loving yourself so you choose healthy relationships, loving your children more than any amount of money, loving your husband so you stay faithful, loving truth so you never bend it, loving justice more than item produced using slave or child labour and loving your neighbour enough to say hello.

 

It is not new to proclaim "all you need is love" but as individuals and as a society we just don't get it.  World leaders have lost their lives for making this statement.  Many would argue love doesn't put food on the table or pay the bills.  For some reason the concept makes people feel very uncomfortable and it is hard to grasp in its entirety.

It is worth considering though, before you share an opinion, end a relationship, commit to  a purchase or make a decision, ask yourself if it contributes to the objective of "getting along with each other".

3 comments:

  1. I agree with you, and I think love is lacking so much in this world.... but I also think truth has been lost along the way too. I don't think Jesus acted with the objective of getting along with people. He did tell us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, and that's crucial. But I think we can be intolerant in a loving way. You can disagree with someone without being obnoxious and rude. There are some things that I believe are too important to keep silent about in the name of peace, there are some things that I think believers in God need to stand up for. Not always seeking argument, but standing firm in God's truth. If a rock doesn't stand up against the tide... it's going to get washed away.

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  2. Absolutely truth is so very important which is why I mentioned it in the blog and referred to never bending it.

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  3. 1 John 4:7-8
    Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

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