Love and Kindness

Love and Kindness, great BIBLICAL words – great BIBLICAL commands – but they have been sorely and grievously redefined by the world.

We as followers of Jesus are instilled with the Spirit of love and Truth and are commanded to love and show kindness to one another without accepting, approving, or embracing the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, or the pride of life. However, the culture in which we live is trying to tell us that to not accept, approve and embrace these things of the world is to be unloving and unkind. We are told that to express opposition to the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life is to be hateful and judgmental.

I know that there is a lot of real HATE, dishonor, and disrespect spewed toward God’s created masterpiece, both male and female who bear His image. It comes from all sides, even from image bearers who claim to be “christian”. This ought not to be so. This grieves the Lord just as much as the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life.

There are also people who foolishly believe a sovereign all-knowing God would give them a pass to do what violates His Holy nature. Others wrongly believe they can practice unholy behavior because He doesn’t understand civilized society.

These passages do not contradict one another. If you think that they do, take a deeper look.

1 John 2:15-17 ESV

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. [16] For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life— is not from the Father but is from the world. [17] And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

1 John 4:7-11 ESV

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. [8] Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. [9] In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. [10] In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. [11] Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Isaiah 5:20-21 ESV

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! [21] Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!

Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. [9] For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.