Nice Ones

Nice ones!  Do mean people finish poorly?  Sometimes we wonder, don't we?  Most of us are drawn to nice people - kind people who reveal warm hearts and the power of the Holy Spirit. Then again, many of us are foolishly drawn to mean people.  

With whom are we most compatible?  What did Jesus say about mean people?  Luke gives us an indication most of us find hard to apply in our everyday lives.

But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. 

Do to others as you would have them do to you. For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit [is] that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners and get back the same amount. 

But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as [also] your Father is merciful.

I suspect the people of Ukraine would have a hard time with this advice.  Oftentimes it is best to stand up to mean people and not bend under their yoke.  Offering the other cheek can lead to an enemy's next step - decapitation.

Deacon David Pierce