Only part of the story
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To the editor:
Last week a writer wrote in and gave us a lesson on what commandment from the Bible we would be concerned with.
The problem with that is that it only told part of the story. There are more commandments that we should be concerned with in our daily lives. Please allow me to talk about those.
Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38. This the first and great commandment. 39. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
Luke 6: 31 – And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
All of these verses apply to our daily lives and relationships with our friends, families and other individuals that come into our lives (yes, even Donald Trump). Christ did not teach us to care for this one and that one and only ones that we like. He taught us to care about ALL. He also taught us something for those who don’t treat us well or that we have a hard time caring about:
Matthew 5:48: Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. …
Christ is the ultimate authority on how we treat each other. Just because we do not agree with someone does not give us reason to be mean to them, talk bad about them or hate them. It is our Christly duty to love each other. If we profess to follow the Word of God and do not do so by action and deed, we are considered a hypocrite.
All of the commandments are important but let us focus on something that could potentially change the world and let others worry about their idol worship. If we can focus on our relationship with Christ, we will not have the feelings of hate, despair and contention. We will feel the love of Christ.
You can’t hate a man, constantly condemning, berating him judging him and expecting to have the blessing of Christ. You also can’t call yourself a Christian because this type of behavior is not Christ-like. The system does not work that way. Matter of fact, when we do that we are condemned and Christ can’t dwell in us. I don’t care if it is your friend, colleague, sister, father or Donald Trump, it doesn’t work that way. When you are abusive you do not show the love of Christ.
These Scriptures and teachings are good for ALL of us, including myself. I have these issues too, just not on the National level or broadcast them in the news or in the newspaper. This is not meant to create an argument but to point out that we are missing the most obvious things – loving God and loving each other.
By the way, Donald Trump is no longer President, can we give it a rest.
Thanks,
Frank Mueller, Jr.
Mount Ayr