Do you see yourself as being a hateful person? Does anyone? Do you draw a strong distinction between hatred and selfishness? You may judge hatred to be worse than selfishness, but from a practical viewpoint how different are they? Have you ever heard of indifference referred to as callous? You are bought with a price and you are not your own. You have an inherent duty to your neighbor and a debt of love to repay. Don’t look at this as a burden, but as an opportunity. You are not a creature of hatred or selfishness, but of love.

Are you familiar with the law of reaping and sowing? It is in the Bible, and one of the most commonly used and understood illustrations. Do you find that you only hear this phrase used in a negative sense? You hear it often enough when people’s bad habits and weaknesses catch up with them. How often do you hear it when someone excels and exceeds your expectations? Consider the real-world counterpart on which the illustration is based. For agriculture to work you need to sow seeds of value to raise a valuable crop.

Do you judge others? Do you judge yourself? Do you suppose that others judge you? You are correct in assuming that not everyone adheres to the principle of not judging others. If you see the benefit of judging yourself, is it possible that others see things in you that you are unable to see in yourself that would also benefit you? Do you know who you can trust? Do you have the courage to approach them and ask? Do you have the grace to receive what they say? If you are serious about ‘cleaning house’ you will enlist some help.

Do you believe that my word is quick and powerful, i.e. living? Do you approach it this way? What example did I set for you? In my famous sermon I quoted scripture as that which had been spoken since old time, love your neighbor and hate your enemy. I provided a fresh perspective when I said, but I say unto you, love your enemies. Would you have come to this conclusion from the original text? Was I correct? If the Bible is living would you expect it to yield only fixed meanings? I invite you to follow me.