Subscribe to Ailbe Newsletters
Sign up to receive our email newsletters and read columns about revival, renewal, and awakening built upon prayer, sharing, and mutual edification.
Leviticus 19.17, 18
“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”
Psalm 66.18; Matthew 5.21-24; Luke 6.27, 28; James 4.11, 12; 1 John 2.9-11; 1 John 3.15
Murder begins in the heart, when men fail to guard their affections. Hate is not a negative affection; it’s simply an affection, and has its proper place in the divine economy (Ps. 97.10). But we must not hate our neighbor. Hate can lead to holding a grudge, which, in turn, can lead to seeking vengeance and, in the worst case scenario, murder.
The way to combat hate is to “reason frankly” with our neighbors. When someone has offended against us, there is an appropriate recourse to take in seeking to make matters right. But at all times we must diligently guard our hearts against anger, hate, resentment, jealousy, or any other misguided affections. Out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks, and out of the fullness of the heart we act toward others according to the affections reigning there. Guard your heart.
Sign up to receive Crosfigell, our thrice-weekly email devotional, featuring T. M. Moore’s insights to Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition.