Leviticus 19:16-18 - " Do not go about
spreading slander among your people. Do not do anything
that endangers your neighbor's life. I am the LORD. Do not
hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor
frankly so you will not share in his guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your
neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”
These verses…seemed to speak to my heart
this morning. Tucked deep into a long
list of laws based on generosity and respect for others…this ‘do not’…is timely
advice for all the hate messages….bashing of ideals….and rash of dropped friends
from the recent election. God told Moses that we are to treat each other with
respect…be careful not to slander…and
never hate a brother in our hearts. We are not to seek revenge….but just simply
speak what we know to be the truth…so that love is maintained.
I have to admit…and I did not decide until
I stepped behind that voting booth….but I did not vote for the president. And I
didn’t have a passion about my choice when I pushed that button either. I
wanted to vote for some crazy write in…to make a point that we really had no
good choice…but that seemed wrong too…so I chose what seemed to be a possible
change…no other real reason in mind.
Many others obviously chose the President….and
I am sure that some of them prayed...and felt led to do so. And God has allowed
the President another 4 years in office…like it or not. I am certain that God has a purpose and a
plan for how it all came down….and I must continue to seek his will for what
part I will play in the government of our nation over the next few years.
What shouldn’t have surprised me…but did
catch me a bit off guard….and truly disturbed my spirit greatly…was the way the
hate flew free on the internet yesterday…and continues today. Posts that bashed people for their choices…posts
that revealed deep hurt…because so-called friends had dropped them from their
friends list. The names I saw in print were not appropriate for my dog…let
alone any human creation of God. This scripture rebukes such behavior….it says
that respect and love are called for….even when there are disagreements among
us.
All the hate does is evoke more fear…fear
of what we cannot see. All the hate does is drive great rifts of separation
between the people God created to love each other…unconditionally. All the hate
does is blind our hearts from seeing and deafen our ears to God’s soft
voice. Satan is so cunning…see how he
tricked us! He used our fear and hate to divide us….to keep us from living continually
in God’s love and control.
My answer…is to go back to that scripture
in Joshua 24…verse 15 …. And if it seem
evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve;
whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the
flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and
my house, we will serve the Lord...
I do not serve man…I choose to serve God…but
I will respect the choice that was made Tuesday. I choose to serve God…and try to love
everyone…in spite of the differences we might have between us. I will seek God in simple prayer….because God
is in control….and he calls us to unite in prayer and seek his will…to simply
accept and move on…and try to understand …and keep on loving.
Father…I thank you for the peace you give
when I turn my conflicts over to you. I
know you have this…and I pray that you will flood my entire world with your
great love and peace and unify this nation so torn and fighting. Unite us with your great love and help us to
put behind us the hate and fear that has gripped our hearts. Help us to pray
and search for your will in this time of conflict and confusion. Amen.
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