Don’t
try to fake love for others. Don’t just talk about love – that’s evil! Hold on
to the good – real devotion to each other. Give honor to the other person – put
them first; worthy of all your effort and passion. That’s how you serve the
Lord your God. (Romans 12:9-11)
To whom do you give honor? Honor is high
respect, privilege, distinction that western culture generally gives now only
to the rich, powerful, or famous. In this environment, people are encouraged to
seek honor selfishly, without concern for others. Love is only a word in that
world. Dignity and equality are words used for self-promotion as a champion of
others; but there is rarely any selfless action observed that supports those
words.
Paul tells the church at Rome they are to
really love; not simply talk about love. He defines real love as putting every
other person first; honoring them as if each one is special in some way. He
calls on believers to serve the interests of all those people with empathy,
understanding, and to serve them with all the passion and effort a person can
exert – as if doing it for the Lord Himself.
Without this conduct, love is not real. It
is hypocrisy to talk about love if you don’t act this way, and Paul says that
hypocrisy is evil. Honor others today!
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