Given the vitriol of our day, it would behoove us to take heed to the old song, sung and recorded in 1966 by Dionne Warwick: “What the World Needs Now.” I was a little girl about that time and remember humming along with the words as it played on the radio “What the world needs is now is love, sweet love. It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of. What the world needs now is love, sweet love. No not just for some, but for everyone.”
Every day, we wake up to hear such horrific news. Beatings. Break-ins. Rifts. Anger. Abuse. Wars. Retaliations. Of course, there are those quiet ways we fail to love others. These things won’t make the news; they won’t even land us a ticket. It’s the subtle ways we dismiss, devalue, and quietly slip people out of our lives. We suffer from selective love habits.I was quietly lamenting the news of the morning; I looked up Romans 2:3-4 in The Message Bible. It hit home:
“You didn’t think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he’s such a nice God, he’d let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he’s not soft. In kindness, he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life change.” Romans 2:3-4
Gosh, darn! It’s so easy to point the finger at others! We’re so quick to judge! We’re so quick to gossip about someone not knowing the whole story. We’re so quick to condemn the ‘other’ political party, while quietly questioning our own. It’s easier to point the finger at others, while rarely looking deep into our own selves.
Who in their right mind wants their own self-righteousness to be exposed? We’ll do everything we can to cover up, hide, act like it didn’t happen, and even condone our wrong behaviors. Yet, God’s patience is real with each one of us. It’s His kindness that leads us to repentance.
The call to love others is all throughout the Bible. Yet, God does not leave us alone in loving well. He sent His Son Jesus to show us the way. It’s Jesus' love and his call for me to love others (ALL others) is my motivation in life.
Come on, you and I both know we love others selectively. God is calling us to shower the riches of God’s kindness, tolerance, and patience on ALL people. Even those people who are hard to love.
In just a few weeks, we have another election. We have a choice. Will we act with anger and disgust towards people whose worldview, gender preference, sin, and politics are different than ours?
Or will you consider the way of Jesus? Jesus took the judgment of the cross and gave us His righteousness. Jesus extends His grace toward each of us. Will we receive His grace? Will we extend that grace to others? Now is the time for His grace. What the world needs now is God’s love.
Wow, this song sure speaks to how we need God to help us love like this! Take a listen:https://www.youtube.
Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.
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